Neighbors
by hermiine
Summary: What if Mac had moved in with Mattie instead of Jen? COMPLETE
1. 1

**_Neighbors  
  
_Author: **hermiine (hermiine85yahoo.com)

**Summery: **What if Mac had moved in with Mattie instead of Jen?

**Rating: **PG-13 Spoilers: Anything up until A Girl's Best Friend of season 9

**Disclaimer: **JAG is still not mine, I'm just playing little bit with characters.

**Author's Notes 1: **Many thanks to Cria and TZ for sticking with me and continuing to beta this story too. I'm very grateful for your effort.

**2: **There are elements of Mac/Webb in the story, but just stick around and you'll see...

**3: **I'm ignoring everything that happened and everything we learned after A Girl's Best Friend. The story takes off from the scene in AGBF in the bullpen with Harm, Mac and Mattie.

**4: **I'm not making any promises concerning how often I will post, but I can say that I'll try to do so as often as possible.

**Feedback: **Any comments, suggestions, corrections or questions are very appreciated. Just send me an e-mail and I'll see what I can do.  
  
**Part 1**  
  
Mac walked across the bullpen, the anger was so eminent that everyone who spotted her quickly slipped out of her warpath.  
  
"Why don't you go and wait in my office?" Harm said to his ward Mattie. They had been standing in the middle of the bullpen. He needed to talk to Mac about some things concerning a case and he didn't want Mattie to get in between of the verbal war that it might turn out to be. Not that he had any bad news, he just wasn't sure if Mac would want to play nicely today. It didn't seem that way at the moment.  
  
"Hello Colonel Mackenzie!" Mattie said before she turned around and did as Harm had asked her.  
  
"Hey you," Mac's expression softened a bit, but she still looked really angry and annoyed.  
  
"Who was it this time? Sturgis or Bud? I know I'm completely innocent," Harm said and immediately he wanted to slam his head into the wall a couple of times. This was not what you say to an angry Mac.  
  
"They're innocent too. It's the stupid contractors who built my building that are guilty only they're a bit hard to get hold on at the moment," Mac let Harm slide.  
  
"What did they do?" Harm asked tentatively.  
  
"They just messed the building completely up and yesterday there was some sort of inspection of it which came to the conclusion that it is dangerous to live in it and they have to tear it down. All of the tenants have to move out by Friday. Isn't that just great? Where do you find a new place to live in three days?"  
  
"I know about an empty apartment, but there are certain conditions to it which I'm not sure you'll like," Harm started off. He had been working on convincing Jennifer Coates to move in to that apartment together with Mattie, but so far he hadn't had much luck. This might be another option to consider.  
  
"And what conditions would that be?" Mac asked suspecting Harm was up to something.  
  
"Well it comes complete with a 15-years-old roommate and an annoying neighbor."  
  
"Those two people wouldn't possibly be called Mattie and Harm."  
  
"It's very possible yes."  
  
"Harm, come with me here," Mac said and practically dragged Harm into her office. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with an audience.  
  
"You know how things have been between us," she said once the door was closed behind Harm "Don't you think it's risking a lot if I'm to move in with your 'daughter' and live only a few steps away from you. Not just our friendship, but also Mattie's well-being."  
  
"It wouldn't be forever and I was hoping we would be able to behave like adults for her sake. You would still have your privacy. Mattie would spend a lot of time with me at my place and then you'll have your place all to yourself. You said it yourself where else are you going to find a new place to live? Can't we just try it out and if it doesn't work you'll continue to look for another apartment?" he tried to come up with every good reason there was for her to do it.  
  
Mac breathed out slowly. "OK, I'm not making any promises though."  
  
"Will you come over tonight after work and we'll look at it together?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Mac didn't sound too thrilled about the whole idea and Harm thought that maybe it had been wrong to talk her into it. On the other hand Mac was more than capable of saying no if she didn't want to do it and he thought that it could work out pretty well for all of them. He knew that Mac would be good for Mattie and he was hoping that she would like having somebody to come home to as well.  
  
Mac and Mattie were standing in the empty two-bedroom apartment. Harm was waiting in his apartment for the jury to come to a verdict.  
  
"So which bedroom do you want?" Mac finally asked Mattie.  
  
"You mean we're going to do this," Mattie said already knowing that she was thrilled with the idea.  
  
"Yes, but we need to talk through some rules of engagement first... Why don't we let Harm join that discussion?" Mac took a last glance all over the apartment. It wasn't as nice, nor as big as her old apartment, but she thought that once it had some furniture, she might actually like it.  
  
Back at Harm's apartment the three of them sat down around the table.  
  
"We'll each pay half of the bills," Mac started up the conversation.  
  
"Agreed," Harm said. "Mattie will have dinner here with me every night when I'm not out on assignment," this was something that he had already discussed with Mattie.  
  
"Yes, but when you're away and I'm here she can eat with me. You and me, Mattie, we'll split the chores around the house. Your room is your room and the living room and kitchen we'll clean up together." Mac turned to Mattie when she said the last part.  
  
"OK," Mattie said slowly and a bit skeptically. It sounded reasonable, but who knew exactly how often this marine wanted her living room to be cleaned.  
  
"She will," Harm said to make sure Mac knew that he would help making sure Mattie did those things they agreed on.  
  
"Harm, you won't walk right into the apartment, but knock and wait until one of us opens," it was just as much a question as a request, but Harm complied without hesitation.  
  
They continued to talk and discuss the finer details of the arrangement. Eventually they were hardly talking about the arrangements anymore, they just talked and tried to get to know each other better. Harm realized that there was still so much he didn't have a clue about in Mattie's life and he was glad that she was willing to share more and more about herself. As they sat there laughing and joking, Mac felt better about moving into the apartment together with Mattie and next door to Harm by the minute.  
  
"So how long ago was it that you were dating?" Mattie suddenly asked.  
  
"I'm sorry," Mac said and put down her cup of coffee so forcefully that the coffee spread out across the table. She looked first at Mattie and then at Harm "You told her we'd been dating?" she asked disbelieving.  
  
"No, I did not tell her that," Harm said embarrassed and shook his head "I did not tell you that. Why would you think something like that?" he asked Mattie and as soon as she started to answer he regretted doing so.  
  
"Well, I mean you obviously have the hots for each other so I figured since you've known each other so long and aren't together now, you'd tried it out and it hadn't worked."  
  
"Mattie we've never dated," Harm said.  
  
"I have a boyfriend," Mac added.  
  
Mattie didn't call them on the fact that they hadn't denied having the 'hots' for each other.  
  
"So how will your boyfriend feel about you moving in here?" Mattie asked Mac instead. There would be plenty of time to torture the two adults about that later.  
  
"Well... I don't know. He's out of the country at the moment. I'm sure he'll be OK with it. It's not like I had a choice... Right Harm?"  
  
Harm smiled back at her. He saw that she was trying to change the subject and he was grateful for that.  
  
"Are you two serious?" Mattie continued to ask. She wasn't ready to drop the subject yet.  
  
"We've been dating for six months or so."  
  
"Ah," Mattie nodded "So it's the same guy as on Christmas Eve. Webb?"  
  
"Yes, Clayton Webb. Do you always ask so many questions?"  
  
"Sometimes. I'll let you off the hook now though."  
  
"How nice of you," Mac said sarcastically, but then smiled to show that she was just joking and wasn't offended by her questions.  
  
Half an hour later Mac had to leave to go home and pack, but she was coming back tomorrow to sign the papers and then she had to start packing. It had all happened really fast.  
  
**TBC **


	2. 2

**AN: **Thanks for all the nice and encouraging comments! Please, don't throw any tomatoes on me now... (it's not as bad as it may seem)  
  
**Part 2  
  
**"I think that was the last box," Mac said as she put the last of her coffee cups into the kitchen cupboard.  
  
"Yep, so do you think Harm has dinner ready?" Mattie asked. She had been unpacking all of Mac's kitchen stuff together with her new roommate. Mac had pretty much moved all of her things into their new apartment. The things from her old guestroom were now in Mattie's room. She was going to have them for the while being. The whole apartment looked a little bit cramped with all of the things. They had however decided to move everything in at first and decide later if they wanted to put some things in storage.  
  
"Well, he better have it," Mac answered Mattie's question and together they went over to Harm's apartment.  
  
The dinner had just finished cooking on the stove and they sat down to eat eagerly. Mac had gotten the day off from work and Harm had just had to go into the office for a couple of meetings. Some of the things they had moved over yesterday with the help of some professional movers. Today Mattie and Mac had unpacked everything and tried to make the apartment as much as a home as they possibly could. They had worked really well together and though they were tired, they had finished everything they had decided to do.  
  
"I can't believe I'm actually moving in here," Mac said in between eating "I mean less than a week ago, I hadn't even thought I'd be moving anywhere soon and here we are."  
  
"Here we are," Harm agreed with her. The old friendship between them was slowly coming back in a new but equally strong shape. He felt good about sharing so many things with her outside the office. Something they hadn't done together in a really long while. The fact that Mac hadn't even known about Mattie before he asked her about testifying at the hearing was proof of that. Since Mattie was around a lot of the time and they were both making sure they weren't sniping at each other in front of her, they were also able to talk in a decent way to each other when she wasn't around. That didn't mean that they weren't competitive and didn't make fun of each other. It was obvious that they were laughing with each other and not at each other and that made it very pleasant to be around the two of them.  
  
They continued to eat pretty much in silence. All three of them were so tired that they just wanted to get the meal over with so they could go to bed.  
  
Just when they were about to be finished, there was a knock on the door. Harm went to open up and was rather surprised to see who was there. It was a man he hadn't seen for almost three months.  
  
"Hey," Clayton Webb started "You don't happen to know where Mac is? I went by her apartment and the building is all deserted." Even though they had met several times at Langely after Paraguay, Webb was still uncomfortable coming to Harm to ask about Mac's whereabouts.  
  
"Yeah, well... she lives here now," Harm said and opened the door completely so Webb could look into the apartment. Mac and Mattie were still sitting at the table, but when Mac realized who was at the door she got up from her seat. She threw an angry look at Harm for him not having let her break the news to Webb and then she walked out of the apartment closing the door behind her and Webb.  
  
"What does he mean 'you live there now'?" Webb asked as the door had been closed. He couldn't imagine that she would move in with another man just like that when she was still seeing him.  
  
"Let's go somewhere to talk," Mac said and Webb nodded. It seemed like they had a lot of things to talk about. "Wait a second," she said and turned around after a few steps down the stair.  
  
Mac knocked on Harm door and opened it before anyone on the other side at a chance to react.  
  
"Mattie, we're going out for a while, so you don't have to worry about going back to the apartment, OK?" Mac told Mattie who was helping Harm to clean up after the dinner. The young girl was obviously exhausted and just nodded glad to know that it was safe to return to the apartment.  
  
"So?" Webb asked once they were sitting in one booth of the local pub. It was a place so far from where you'd expect someone with Webb's style of clothes and obvious attitude to be, but at the moment he at least didn't seem to notice that fact.  
  
"Well, they're tearing down my old building... I guess you noticed that," Mac started saying.  
  
"And you moved in with Rabb?"  
  
"No, no," Mac denied "I'm not living with Harm. I moved in to the apartment next door. Mattie, Harm's ward, is going to live there with me. I didn't have much of a choice, they're going to tear down the building and we had to be out of there by today..." Mac explained and at the same time she felt a little bit guilty about saying that she had been forced to move in there. The way things had been with Mattie and Harm the last couple of days, she was really happy that she was moving in to the apartment with Mattie and not anywhere else. She didn't feel forced at all.  
  
"Of course you had a choice. You could have moved in with me!" Webb said and the statement caused them both to fall deadly silent.  
  
"Clay," she said and took his hand that was lying on the table "You know as well as I do that we aren't there yet."  
  
"Yeah, I know," he stroked his thumbs over the back of her hand "I hope we'll get there eventually," he said hopefully. They were both contemplating the fact that despite seeing each other for six months and knowing each other even longer, they couldn't even imagine what it would be like living together. They rarely even spent the whole night together. What did that say about their relationship?  
  
They sat silent for a while and Mac was having serious problems to keep her eyes open.  
  
"Oh Sarah, you look so tired. Come on, let's go. I' follow you back to your apartment," Webb told her with a lot of concern in his voice. He left some bills to cover their sodas on the table and they walked towards the exit of the pub.  
  
"Can I see you tomorrow?" Webb asked as they walked out of the pub arm in arm.  
  
"Sure. I'm sorry about today. I've missed you and I want to see you, but I really don't think I can stay awake any longer," Mac tried to suffocate a yawn, but failed completely "We've been unpacking the whole day."  
  
"Oh don't worry about that. I'll be home for a while now, so I'm sure we'll get to see a lot of each other," Webb said encouragingly and held on even tighter to her.  
  
"You always say that."  
  
"That's because I want it to be true so much," Webb said and smiled. He often wasn't allowed to stay as long in Washington as he'd want to.  
  
"I do too," Mac smiled back at him.  
  
**TBC **


	3. 3

AN: Just to assure everyone, this is not a Mac/Webb story, though Webb will still take part in this story for a while. Exactly how high on the Mac/Harm- scale it will be is for you to continue to read and find out... Thanks to Cria and TZ for betaing and also to all the reviewers.  
  
**Part 3  
**  
A little more than a week had gone by since Mac and Mattie had moved into the apartment. The two of them were getting along fine when they were both in the apartment, which wasn't too often. Mac had been out a lot both working and with Webb. It wasn't uncommon for Mac to return home first after Mattie had gone to bed.  
  
"Hey," Mattie said and looked up from her books sitting at the kitchen table studying.  
  
"Hi. Don't you like sitting at your desk working?" Mac got a package of orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured herself a glass.  
  
"My desk is kind of overloaded."  
  
"So I noticed..." Mac said and thought that you couldn't possibly put another thing on that desk without all of the stacks of books, papers and other things to collapse.  
  
"So what are you going to do tonight?" Mattie asked Mac instead.  
  
"I'm going to a jujutsu-class. I had a friend in boot who had trained it and it was really cool what she could do. I saw that there is a jujutsu club here in the neighborhood so I thought I'd finally try it out."  
  
"What's jujutsu?" Mattie asked.  
  
"It's self defense techniques from Japan. You know judo, well judo comes from jujutsu."  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Yeah. Do you want to come?"  
  
"But I don't know anything about those things."  
  
"Neither do I."  
  
"You know how to kick-box and... I mean you're a marine!"  
  
"That's something very different. Besides it's for beginners. I think it would be fun if you'd come."  
  
"I guess I should ask Harm..."  
  
"Do that and then get dressed. You need to wear something with long sleeves," Mac said and left to take off her uniform and change into something suitable for the exercise.  
  
"I'm not going to be able to get out of bed tomorrow," Mattie sat down on the chair and started to dig in on the mashed potatoes and sausages. "You know Harm, this is a lot better than all of those steamed vegetables..."  
  
"I thought I'd treat the hard working women to something more of their preference today."  
  
"The best idea you've had in a very long time, Harm," Mac said.  
  
"Hey..." he protested "So you liked jujutsu then?" he asked Mattie.  
  
"Yeah. It was really cool. Lots of nice people and it hurt really badly... it was just so great!" Mattie explained lively.  
  
"You think it was great that it hurt?" Harm looked rather confused at Mattie.  
  
"Yeah hm... I guess it was more fun when Mac was hurting..." Mattie admitted.  
  
"You're so bad, Mattie. I won't be able to move my wrists at all tomorrow," Mac complained.  
  
"You're just as bad. Anyway next time we're going to practice kicking. Don't you want to come too, Harm?"  
  
"It sounds a bit dangerous for an old man like me,"  
  
"So what have an old flyboy like you been up to then?" Mac asked Harm. Since they both had spent the whole day in the office they had driven with one car to JAG HQ. They would do that whenever they knew they'd be leaving the office at the same time. Mattie, who was just studying global warming in Biology, was very proud of them.  
  
"I went for a jog and then I finished some of the paperwork."  
  
"Is it safe for you to go for a jog?" Mattie asked "I mean aren't you afraid that you'll have an heart attack at your age?"  
  
"Mattie..."  
  
"It was an innocent question..."  
  
"Do you have a lot of homework left, Mattie?" Harm went over to a more serious topic and Mattie was obviously not very pleased with the new one.  
  
"I still have to write some answers to those questions about that book," she complained.  
  
"Which book? The one you haven't started reading yet..." Harm assumed.  
  
"Maybe not yet... I thought maybe you could help."  
  
"English was never my best subject. Too bad that you don't have any problems with math or physic, then I could help."  
  
"Math and physic are easy subjects," Mattie said and for her they were indeed very easy.  
  
"You know Mattie, I could help you with English if you want to," Mac offered cautiously afraid of stepping on Harm's toes. Mattie was his responsibility and he might want to spend that time together with her.  
  
"Oh Mac, that would be great! Have you read it? Then maybe I don't have to read it."  
  
"Yes, you do. Why don't you start and I will clean up here before I come over to the apartment?" Mac suggested.  
  
"Go to your room and read, Mattie!" Harm said in a very fatherly tone when Mattie looked like she'd rather help Mac cleaning up after dinner.  
  
Mattie got up from her chair and walked over towards the door slowly. She really wasn't into reading that book.  
  
"Harm, you don't need to do that. You cook so often for me nowadays, the least I can do is to clean up."  
  
He stopped moving the things from the table to the counter for a second and then continued again.  
  
"It's just fun to have some people to cook for," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I never felt like cooking just for me either."  
  
"I'm glad that you're here."  
  
"I'm glad to be here, Harm," she said and smiled.  
  
They continued to clean up together in silence.  
  
"I better get going now. I wonder if Mattie's gotten anything done," Mac said as they were finished.  
  
"Are you sure you have time to help Mattie? Aren't you seeing that boyfriend of yours tonight?" Harm asked sarcastically. If anyone had asked him why he'd ask that and like that on top of it, he wouldn't have been able to give an answer.  
  
"If you had a problem with me helping Mattie, you could have just said so. There's no need for you to drag Webb into this," she said calmly trying to keep herself under control.  
  
"I..." he didn't know quite what to say.  
  
Mac turned around and decided to just walk away from the fight. When the door was almost shut, Harm started moving again.  
  
"Mac, wait," he said wanting her to stay and went after her. She hadn't entered her and Mattie's apartment when Harm joined her in the hallway.  
  
"Mac, I'm sorry," he said and that got Mac to stay and listen to what he had to say. "I really appreciate the time you spend with Mattie. You're good for her."  
  
"I just wish you'd accept what Clay and I have. If you can't I don't think this will work out," she said and made a wave with her hand towards both of the apartments. She looked devastated at the thought of it not working out.  
  
"I'll work on that. I promise," He paused and they looked into each other's eyes "Are we OK?"  
  
"Yeah, we're OK," Mac said and nodded "I need to go now."  
  
"I know," Harm said and sighed in relief. Hopefully sooner rather than later they were going to be OK.  
  
**TBC **


	4. 4

**AN: **I didn't mean to make you wait so long for the next part. There were certain technical problems keeping me from posting. I just want you to know that I'm still working on the story, but I can't say when the next part will be out... hopefully soon though. I'm glad it seems like so many are enjoying this story, thank you all for letting me know.  
  
**Part 4  
**  
Mac was standing in her office starting to pack up her things for the day. It was a Friday afternoon and she'd be forced to take some work with her home for the weekend. Webb had just called and told her that he was back in town. He'd been away for just over two weeks and she was of course looking forward to seeing him. She knew that this wasn't his fault, but she didn't really like the conditions of their current relationship. As soon as he was back in town she had to drop everything and come to him, of course she wanted to too and he was there so seldom that if she wanted to see him that was what she had to do, however it was still somewhat disturbing to her.

She put the last of the files into her suitcase and picked up her coat and cover. Just before she was about to leave, Harm came over to her office. They had driven separate cars this day since Mac had had an interview at Quantico the first thing in the morning.

"Are you leaving now?" Harm asked though it was rather obvious that she was.

"Yeah," Mac answered and tied her coat shut around her waist.

"You've got time to drive Mattie to that class trip tonight, right? I'm going for a beer with Sturgis after work. She needs to be there by 1830," he explained. Mattie had been talking about the class trip for a week now and Harm had promised to drive her over there.

"No, I don't," Mac answered him. She'd been on a rather high anger level before and now she felt it soaring to new levels. Couldn't he at least have the decency to ask with a real question if she could help drive Mattie?

"Are you sure? I doubt it will just take more than a few minutes."

"Then do it yourself," Mac was very close to screaming at him "I'm not your live-in nanny that you can just boss around. I have a life outside that apartment, you know," she walked past him, or since he was standing in her doorway maybe you should say through him, and left the building.

"PMS," Harm muttered and luckily Mac didn't hear him.

Mac went directly over to Webb's apartment just like she had planned to. After being there for half an hour she decided to call the apartment and check that Mattie really had been taken to the meeting point at the school. Mattie had answered the phone and told her that she had just been about to leave with Harm.

The next morning when Mac woke up at Webb's apartment, she decided to go back to the office and finish the work that she had taken with her to do at home. She knew she wasn't going to get anything done where she was right now and she didn't want to go back to her apartment afraid of another confrontation with Harm. She could feel that she was still fuming.

The whole day she spent at the office taking care of everything that had been put back over the previous weeks. She felt rather pleased with herself and her anger towards Harm had also lessened a lot. She had realized that she'd been in a rather foul mood even before he'd come into her office and considering how she had offered to help out more with Mattie, it might not have been so presumptuous for him to think that she was going to drive Mattie considering her social calendar was mostly rather blank.

She got up from her chair and gathered her things. Mattie wasn't coming back until tomorrow and a little peace offering to Harm might be in order. She got out of the building and started driving in the direction of her home. On the way there she picked up a large vegetarian pizza. She had gotten used to eating vegetarian by now.  
  
Mac knocked on the door. All she could smell was the pizza she was holding in her hands. She had heard some music coming from the apartment so she was positive that Harm was at home. He opened the door after just a couple of seconds.  
  
"Hi!" Mac said and smiled "Peace offering," she nodded towards the pizza.  
  
"Oh... Hi Mac," at the same time a baby started crying. "I've already cooked dinner for us... Catherine is here with her daughter."  
  
"Oh," Mac swallowed. She could recognize the voice of the woman inside the apartment who was comforting the baby with sweet calming words. "Then... then I won't disturb you."  
  
For some reason Mac felt her eyes starting to get filled with tears. This was not how it was suppose to have gone. When Harm didn't close the door himself she grabbed the doorknob to shut the door and then backed away and went into her own apartment.  
  
The first thing she did was to throw the whole, still hot pizza in the garbage can. That made her feel a little bit better. She stood at the counter and held on tightly to it. Soon the tears and disappeared back into the center of her heart.  
  
At the same time in Harm's apartment, Harm went back to distractedly mixing the salad. That was the last thing he had to do to finish the dinner. Catherine's little girl Carla had settled down a bit again.  
  
"Harm, shouldn't you go after her? She seemed rather upset," Catherine asked him.  
  
"I'm sure Mac's fine," Harm told her, but it didn't convince her that he really thought that.  
  
"If you want to go over and see for yourself, don't worry about me," Catherine told him and sat down on the couch "I need to feed her before I can eat anyway."  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked. He really wanted to go over to Mac. He didn't like it at all when they had had a fight and hadn't made up yet. They always did make up, but the sooner the better. He also felt a distinct want to explain Catherine and Carla's presence in his apartment to her.  
  
Catherine nodded at him and he put down the two big spoons on the counter.  
  
"I'll be right back," Harm assured her.  
  
"Take your time," Catherine said and smiled encouragingly. The friendship those two people had must be rather mighty, she thought.  
  
Harm had to stand outside the door for quite some time before Mac came and opened up. At first she hadn't even heard him and then when she had noticed the knocking on the door, she had tried her hardest to ignore it. In the end he had been more stubborn.  
  
"Hey," she said as she opened the door.  
  
"Are you OK?" Harm asked her showing a lot of concern.  
  
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked him back trying to put up a strong front by being aggressive.  
  
"I'm sorry about the pizza... maybe we can heat it up tomorrow and eat it then."  
  
"Sure. Whatever," Mac said put her whole composure had softened a bit.  
  
"I just wanted to say that the peace-offer is accepted and I believe I'm the one who should have made it. I was more to blame for what happened yesterday. I'm sorry."  
  
"Apology accepted," Mac said and a half-smile mostly consisting of relief graced her face. "I was already in such a bad mood. It didn't take much for me to boil over. I'm sorry too."  
  
"I need to get back."  
  
"Right. Back to Catherine," Mac nodded to him.  
  
"There's nothing going on between the two of us," Harm assured her.  
  
"I believe you, but even if there was something going on between the you two it wouldn't really be any of my business," Mac nodded "Not that I don't care about you and who your with... I mean as a friend of course," Mac sort of rambled.  
  
"I care about you too," Harm said, stepped a little closer to her and put his arms around her for a tight hug. "You kind of looked like you needed one."  
  
Mac slightly nodded. She silently wondered what was wrong with her. She had been out of balance for a couple of days now. At first she had still been able to conceal it from everyone else, but yesterday and today her emotions had been on the outside and swung all the time.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
"We can go and pick Mattie up together."  
  
"Sounds great," Harm agreed.  
  
**TBC **


	5. 5

**Part 5  
**  
"Hello Neighbor!" Harm said when Mac opened the door still in her nightgown and bathrobe. "Happy Valentines day."  
  
"Happy Valentines day," Mac mumbled still rather sleepily. "Your ward has been up since six o'clock this morning trying out every single outfit there is in her wardrobe. She comes in to show me every single one and then she runs back and puts on another. I'm starting to agree with you, she really shouldn't be allowed to see that boy."  
  
"Well, you're the one who talked me into it," Harm said and smiled mischievously. Mattie had returned home from school the previous Monday very excited. The boy that she'd been interested in since she'd come to the school had asked her to go and see a movie with her this Saturday, which was Valentines day. A long discussion between all three of them had taken place until Harm had finally agreed to let her go.  
  
He was very grateful to have Mac to talk to and have her help him with knowing how to deal with Mattie sometimes. He had realized that the help that she gave which was most important was the fact that he didn't feel like he was the only one who was parenting Mattie and making all of the decisions. That was actually a lot more important than Mac sometimes making sure that Mattie had done her homework or dropping her off at school. Their argument a couple of weeks earlier had led them to trying to be more attentive to each other, however it was hard when you were living as close to each other as they were not to go on each other's nerves from time to time. They had both lived alone for such a long time, the adjustment still needed to take some more time.  
  
"I was just going to start making breakfast. Have you eaten?" Mac asked and turned towards the kitchen.  
  
"No," Harm answered.  
  
"You were hoping to get some of my Saturday-pancakes," Mac accused him. Every Saturday she made pancakes and after inviting Mattie and Harm to eat with her once she had found herself with two guests for breakfast every Saturday ever since. At the beginning Mattie had eaten breakfast with Harm at his apartment and Mac had had her cup of coffee alone in hers. Since the incident and argument two weeks ago, they had just gotten closer and done even more things together. Mac would now come over to Harm's apartment in the morning once she was ready and then they would leave together for work.  
  
Mac had in the time that had passed since realized even more what had caused her emotional behavior that week. The biggest part of her adult life she had lived alone and therefore been able to be alone and deal with her anger and other emotions mostly without anyone else seeing. She had just shut everyone else out when she got into that mood, although Harm had of course had to deal with her temper at times anyway, but that wasn't a possibility anymore. Harm and Mattie were always around and she needed to learn to control and work through her anger more and apologize when she despite that took it out on someone undeserving. So far that had worked really well.  
  
The incident had made Harm realize that even though he felt like he wasn't completely alone with the responsibility of Mattie, he shouldn't put the same obligations on Mac as were on him. If neither one of them could do something, he was the one who needed to find a way to resolve the situation, not Mac.  
  
Harm followed Mac into the kitchen and watched her starting to turn on the heat of the stove and put some oil in the pan. Just before she was going to put some of the mix into the pan there was a knock on the door.  
  
"You're expecting someone?" Harm asked her.  
  
"No," Mac shook her head. She had no idea who could be at the door. She motioned for Harm to take over the pancake-making and he did so.  
  
Three minutes later Mac returned her arms holding a large bouquet with red roses and her eyes filled with joy and happiness. In the middle of her face was a radiant smile.  
  
"You've got a secret admirer," Harm smiled at her. It was obvious that she was thrilled with the flowers.  
  
"Not so secret, there was a card. They're from Webb, he says he wishes he was here," Mac explained. She once again stuck her nose into the roses and took in their wonderful scent. The exact words of the card had been: I wish I was always where you are. Take care of those roses and I'll be home before they're gone.  
  
"Do you want me to get a vase for them?" Harm asked. He had just turned the pancake over.  
  
"Yes, that would be nice of you," Mac told him.  
  
He soon returned with the vase and since she was working with the pancakes again he put water and her flowers in it.  
  
"You miss him," Harm stated.  
  
"Of course. I wish he was here... But now I've got you and Mattie when he's gone so I guess it's alright anyway," Mac said and smiled. The truth was some days she hardly even thought about Webb.  
  
Mac was finished with the pancakes and Mattie, now in her normal jeans and t-shirt, joined them in the kitchen.  
  
"So when are we leaving tonight?" Mac asked the other two.  
  
"You're both coming?" Mattie asked disbelieving.  
  
"Yeah," Harm said. He had talked to Mac about that yesterday. The two of them were going to drive Mattie over to Rick's house and talk with his parents and then they would drive the two teenagers to the mall where they were going to see a movie. Harm and Mac hadn't quite decided what to do with their night after that. Rick's parents were going to pick them up after the movie.  
  
"I told Rick we would be there by half past six, so maybe leaving at six o'clock or so," Mattie suggested.  
  
"Sounds good," Harm agreed.  
  
"So what are you going to do?" Mattie asked. She had been so riled up about her date that she hadn't tried to find out what the two adults in her life were doing the most romantic day of the year.  
  
"Well, I'm going to give my ward a ride to her date and that includes finding out if this is a person I'm going to let her actually go on that date with," Harm answered her.  
  
"Same goes for me," Mac added.  
  
"You're not funny. You know that wasn't what I meant," Mattie complained "You seriously don't have any dates. You are so pathetic."  
  
"Mattie," Harm warned her. In their household it was common to make fun of each other and good-natured ironies were often used. However Harm was also aware that he needed to out some boundaries in there as well.  
  
"Sorry," Mattie said. Since they had all finished eating breakfast they started cleaning up together. The day was going to be dedicated to picking out the things of the apartment that they didn't want to keep there. Last weekend when Mac had walked into her large couch for the fifty-eleventh time, she had decided that this was it. Now she wanted some more space and the easiest way seemed to be to remove some of the unnecessary furniture.  
  
Mattie had been quite appalled by the idea of cleaning and moving things on Valentine's day, but she had been forced to budge for the less romantically adjusted adults.  
  
They had just parked the car in front of the house where Rick and his parents lived.  
  
"You won't embarrass me now, right?" Mattie asked very concerned.  
  
"No, we won't," Mac assured her.  
  
They walked up to the door together and Mattie knocked on the door. It wasn't long until it was opened by a fifty-something petite woman with long curly hair.  
  
"Hello. It's nice to meet you," Mrs Jones, Rick's mother, said and reached out the hand first to Mattie and then to Mac and Harm.  
  
"It's nice to meet you, too," Harm said.  
  
"I've heard so much good about your beautiful daughter," Mrs Jones said "You must be so proud of her."  
  
"Mom," Rick who had now also showed up protested.  
  
"We're not..." Harm started saying. Mac caught Mattie's eyes and saw something she recognized from her own childhood and youth.  
  
"We are very proud of her," Mac said and put her hand on Mattie's shoulder. It wasn't a lie, they were indeed very proud of Mattie and besides that, they were treating her like their daughter so it should be OK if someone thought of them like that. "We've heard many nice things about your son too."  
  
Mattie was so grateful to Mac for not bringing up her whole history that she let the heard-many-nice-things-comment slide for this time. Rick of course knew that she wasn't living with her real parents, but he didn't know the whole story yet.  
  
"Rick's father is out of town on business, so I'll be the one picking them up later," Mrs Jones explained.  
  
"OK," Harm said. He decided to accept not being completely truthful about their real relationships. It had to be up to Mattie when she wanted to tell them about her mother and father.  
  
Mac and Harm had just dropped Mattie and Rick off by the cinema with strong admonitions to call if there was a problem and they should pick them up early instead.  
  
"That one sure wasn't talking a lot," Harm commented as they started driving away again. Other than Hello Rick hadn't said a word to either Mac or Harm voluntarily. When he'd been asked a question he'd answered it with as few words as possible.  
  
"Oh Harm. He was just nervous," Mac said.  
  
Now they were faced with the problem of how they were going to spend the rest of the evening. Both were in the mood for company, but neither one wanted to go somewhere where they'd be mistaken as a couple out celebrating the special day. Mac suggested renting some movies and watch at home and Harm agreed that that sounded nice.  
  
"On a day like this you'd think you'd let the woman pick the movie," the old man at the counter said to Harm when they stood at the counter each with a movie of their choice in their hands. "That often makes the day more enjoyable to us men too."  
  
"I doubt that will have any affect on my day," Harm mumbled. They paid and left the store.  
  
"Is it impossible for a man and a woman to walk into a store together without being just friends?" Harm asked Mac.  
  
"What? Is the idea of us being anything more that offensive to you?" Mac said and smiled mischievously at him. At times she would also be annoyed with the fact that their 8 year friendship was always taken for something else, something more. Even the two of them had thought that there had to be more between the two of them, but right now she was taking it all with a smile.  
  
"No, of course that idea isn't offensive to me. It's just a bit annoying, that's all."  
  
"Just think about it. Once I'm old and wrinkly and have lost all there was of my figure, people are going to think that you have more important things to do than to plot to get into my pants."  
  
"Maac," Harm protested loudly and the color of his face changed slightly.  
  
"I didn't say you were, I just said that people thought you were. Or is this whole neighbor/roommate thing just a way for you to get closer to me?" Mac joked.  
  
"Of course I want to be close to you," Harm said seriously hoping that she'd see how important she was to him.  
  
"I want to be close to you to, Harm," Mac said and gone were all the laughter from her voice, she was also completely honest and serious.  
  
"Are you cold?" Harm asked when he saw Mac wrap the blanket she had found on the couch even tighter around her body. They were about halfway through Dancer in the Dark, Mac's choice, and they were sitting at opposite parts of the couch. While watching the previous movie they had eaten some Chinese take-out, but now they had been sitting silently just enjoying the movie.  
  
"A little bit," Mac admitted.  
  
"Scoot over and we can share some body heat," Harm suggested.  
  
"You make it sound so inviting," Mac rolled her eyes, but she started to prepare herself to move over anyway.  
  
"I'm not the one who's cold."  
  
"Good point."  
  
Mac sat down right beside Harm and leaned in against his chest. Harm tucked his arm around her and made sure that the blanket was back in place.  
  
"Better?" he asked a couple of minutes later.  
  
"Very."  
  
Half an hour later Mattie knocked on the door and walked into the apartment.  
  
"Hey, "Harm said and released his hand from around Mac's body to turn off the video. "How was it?"  
  
"It was fun," Mattie said and her eyes told both of them that it had been more than just fun "You can turn the video back on, I just wanted to let you know that I was home."  
  
"OK," Mac said "I'm glad you had good time and I'll get it all out of you tomorrow."  
  
"You can try," Mattie challenged her and laughed as she turned around to go to her apartment.  
  
"Good night, Mattie," Harm said "So are we going to finish watching the movie?"  
  
"Yeah, or would you rather that I leave now?"  
  
"No, I want to finish it."  
  
"Good," she said and reclaimed her spot on the couch leaning on him and he soon put his arm back around her. It was still rather chilly to her.  
  
**TBC **


	6. 6

**AN: **Thanks to everyone who continues to support my writing of this story. It's a lot more than I've experienced before and what I had expected at all. It definitely helps considering I'm still writing the story and I don't really have that much freetime at the moment. I especially want to thank Cria and TZ for betaing.  
  
OldManFan: If you e-mail me I can explain what I meant. (hermiine85atyahoo.com)  
  
**Part 6  
**  
In Mac and Mattie's apartment the two inhabitants and Clayton Webb were sitting on the couch and the armchair around the coffee table talking. Webb had been in town for one week and as usual that meant Mac spent less time with Mattie and Harm than she'd normally do. Mac didn't join them for dinner every night as she usually did, but still had breakfast with them every morning. Mattie had been doing her homework when Webb had arrived and after having asked Mac for help a couple of times she had ended up on the couch with them as well. Now they were sitting there talking and laughing  
  
"But isn't the food quite creepy there?" Mattie asked. Webb was just telling them about the trip he had made to Paris when he was Mattie's age.  
  
"No. You just need to remember to either ask carefully what it is before you eat it or not at all. Once you've already eaten it, you don't want to know what it really was."  
  
"Have you ever been to France, Mac?" Mattie asked. Mattie was taking French in school, but right now she was more interested in daydreaming up a trip there than learning French grammar and vocabulary.  
  
"Yeah, but not for long parts of time. A day here and a day there because of work. You don't really get to see a lot then," Mac explained.  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by Harm's characteristic knock on the door.  
  
"Come in," both Mac and Mattie shouted.  
  
"Hi," he said mostly to Webb, whom he hadn't met yet for this visit. "Dinner's ready. Are you coming Mattie?"  
  
"Yeah. Have you made lots of food like always?" Mattie asked and when Harm didn't answer she assumed that so was the case. "Can't Mac and Mr Webb have dinner with us too?"  
  
Harm felt like he was being pushed into a corner. He could accept Mac being with Webb, but having to see them together, he wasn't sure if that would work out.  
  
"I can't decide that. It's up to Mac and Webb," he didn't say no, but he hoped that one of the others would.  
  
"I think it sounds really nice," Webb said hoping to be able to get back some of the friendship that had been between him and Harm before Paraguay.  
  
"Are you sure?" Mac and Harm asked at the same time.  
  
"Sure," Webb nodded and ignored the tense feeling between the two other adults.  
  
"OK. Are you ready to come now?" Harm asked and the other three nodded so he turned around and they walked over to his apartment.  
  
As soon as he opened the door a smell of chicken marinated in garlic and citrus fruit met them.  
  
"It smells delicious, Harm," Mac said. She went to get down two more plates for her and Webb and Mattie took out glasses, knives and forks. Neither one of them had any problems finding stuff around Harm's apartment.  
  
They sat down and the tensions were still rather obvious, even Mattie noticed it, but she wasn't ready to acknowledge that this idea of hers had failed. When the adults weren't talking, she talked even more. Eventually the atmosphere around the table was brightened a bit.  
  
"Mac told me you made an offer for a house," Webb told Harm.  
  
"I did. Unfortunately they got a better one from someone else."  
  
"So are you still looking for a house?" Webb continued to ask.  
  
"I guess. Not very actively though. Things are going well as they are."  
  
"So I hear," Webb said and smiled at Mac. Both Mac and Mattie nodded in agreement with Harm's words. They had both silently hoped that the house- deal would fall through so that they didn't have to leave this current living arrangement.  
  
"So is anyone up for Trivial Pursuit?" Mattie asked.  
  
"Why not?" Mac said and the men also agreed that it would be nice to play.  
  
They sat down around the coffee table and started playing. Harm and Mac were one team and Webb and Mattie one. The latter team won because they had a lot more diversity in their areas of knowledge.  
  
After the game was over, Mattie had to leave to finish the last of her homework assignments before she went to bed. Webb decided now was a good time for him to leave as well and Mac followed him out to the hallway to say goodbye.  
  
"You two are happy, I can see that," Harm said when Mac returned to help him clean everything up. They had already taken care of the washing up right after dinner so there wasn't a lot to do.  
  
"I am. I'm glad you're so... fine with it now," Mac told him sincerely.  
  
"All I ever wanted was for you to be happy."  
  
"Thanks. I want that for you too."  
  
"How did you know?" Harm asked suddenly.  
  
"How did I know what?" Mac asked.  
  
"I asked first," Harm said too quickly.  
  
"I know that, Harm, and I'll answer you as soon as I understand the question," she said slowly and pedagogically and smiled encouragingly at him. There was obviously something that was bothering him and she wanted to put him at ease.  
  
"How did you know that I wouldn't make you happy and he would?" he expanded his question.  
  
"I... I didn't know that... It was just a feeling I had at that moment. I wasn't happy. Something had to change. When you didn't fight me on that 'never', I thought you felt the same way. I thought we'd be OK, that we would still be friends like always."  
  
"I didn't feel the same way," Harm admitted to her and all of Mac's assumptions crashed together "But that's too late to say now, right?"  
  
"Right," Mac swallowed three times after having said that word.  
  
They were really already finished cleaning up, but both tried to find new things to do so they could continue being there, talking together. Mac was scrubbing on an imaginary spot on the table. Harm was rearranging the glasses in his cupboard.  
  
"Harm, can I ask you something?" Mac broke the silence.  
  
Harm nodded and she continued.  
  
"Were you disappointed in me when I wasn't there for you when you were in the brig?"  
  
"You're asking me that now;" Harm was a bit shocked. He hadn't expected her to ask him that.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why weren't you there?" he asked, but before she could form an answer he continued "No, no, I wasn't disappointed in you. I wanted you as far away from that investigation and that trial as possible."  
  
"When I found out about Manetti's investigation on Singer, I was so disappointed with you. I felt betrayed," Mac could see Harm swallow. Not telling her about his suspicions regarding the father of Singer's baby wasn't something he was proud of. "But that wasn't the reason for me staying away. I wasn't angry with you and I didn't believe that you were guilty. I just didn't know what I could do and we were told to stay away so I just did as I was told. Maybe it was the easy way out, but I just..."  
  
"It's OK, Mac. It's OK. I never doubted your faith in me. There are more ways of being there for someone... Besides chances are if you had gotten involved in that mess, I would have been so focused on getting you away I wouldn't have been able to get myself out of it."  
  
For what felt like hours they stood still and looked into each other's eyes. Then they both at the exact same time looked away. Mac moved over to the counter and returned the cloth to its place.  
  
"I'm... I'm leaving now."  
  
"OK. I'll see you tomorrow," Harm said quietly.  
  
"Yeah. First thing," Mac said equally quiet. She felt like it would have been appropriate for them to share a hug or something, but she didn't dare walking up so close to him. She waved a little with her hand and then she was gone. Neither one of them slept a lot that night. They were still so wrapped up in their conversation and had a lot to think about.  
  
**TBC **


	7. 7

**Part 7  
**  
"Mac," Mattie shouted across the whole schoolyard "Happy birthday!" she said and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're back. He's been driving me crazy." She came up to them almost short of breath.  
  
"Mattie, I was only away for five days," Mac protested. She had been on the west coast for an investigation. So far the only times both she and Harm had been out of town on the same time, it had been just over one night and it was OK for Mattie to be alone for such short amounts of times. They trusted her and she had been shown trustworthy.  
  
"But still... So are we going right away?" she asked Harm with a knowing smile.  
  
"No, we're going to go home and change first," Harm explained to her. They had planned something for Mac's birthday and she was still unaware of it.  
  
"Change to what?" Mac asked confused. She had gone directly form the airport to the office to report her findings to the admiral and hadn't been at home yet. She wasn't really tired despite having flown across the nation and she started to get some butterflies thinking about the surprise they had planned for her. It was maybe childish, but she liked the fact that she was actually going to get to celebrate her birthday, she hadn't been so sure of it.  
  
"Something nice," Harm answered her.  
  
"I'll help you pick something out," Mattie offered.  
  
"This is so great. Thank you, both of you," Mac said as they were finishing up their dessert at the cozy and slightly romantic restaurant Harm had picked out to go to. "It's the best birthday in a really long time and I'm so glad I got to share it with you."  
  
"It isn't over yet. You still haven't gotten your presents," Mattie protested.  
  
"There are presents. I thought this was my present."  
  
"There's more waiting at home," Harm said.  
  
Since they were all ready with the dessert they decided to go home to the apartment where they were going to have the present-opening.  
  
The ride over to the apartment went by fast. Mattie tried to make Mac guess what it was they were giving her, but Mac didn't want to. Instead she made Mattie tell her everything that had happened since she'd left. It was often hard to catch Mattie on the phone when she was away.  
  
"Mr Wyatt says we will be able to go up for the yellow belt by the end of May, isn't that really cool?"  
  
"Sure is," Mac told her "So you've been to both of the Ju-jutsu-classes this week."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
They had arrived at the apartment building and walked up the stairs to their floor. Harm showed the way into his apartment where they had hid the presents.  
  
"Sit down over there, Mac, and we will be right back," Mattie motioned towards the couch.  
  
Seconds later they returned from Harm's sleeping area, Mattie with a small green box and Harm with a rather big blue wrapped package.  
  
"Open that one first," Mattie said and nodded towards Harm's package.  
  
"OK," Mac said and Harm gave the package to her. She unwrapped it and found a soft green Cashmere sweater.  
  
"It's beautiful, Harm," she moved her hands across the soft fabric "Thank you."  
  
"Mattie told me you had been looking at it on your last shopping tour... I wanted you to have something you really wanted."  
  
"I did," Mac smiled appreciatively at him.  
  
"This is from me," Mattie said and gave Mac the small box she had been holding.  
  
Mac unwrapped it to and she wasn't surprised when she found a jewelry box. Inside it was a silver chain with a charm in the shape of a dinosaur.  
  
"I thought it kind of looked like that Ichosaurus, you have."  
  
"Well kind of," Mac said and tried her best to see the resemblance, but failed. However it was really sweet and she liked it anyway. "Thank you, Mattie. I really like it." Mattie got a tight hug as thanks.  
  
"I'm glad you do."  
  
Mattie had to leave the apartment early to go to bed. Rick's family's had a house by the beach and the next day Mattie was going to go there with them for the day. Since the next day was a Saturday and both Mac and Harm were caught up with their work, they were completely free the next day.  
  
"You want some coffee, Mac?" Harm asked hoping she was going to stay a little longer and not leave with Mattie.  
  
"I'm always up for coffee," Mac smiled.  
  
"I'll leave you two to it then," Mattie said and hugged Mac once again "I'm really glad that you're back."  
  
"I'm glad to be back too, Mattie. Good night."  
  
"Good night, Mattie," Harm said. He had just put on a pot of coffee for the two of them and gave Mattie a quick hug.  
  
Mac sat down on the couch and Harm joined her there.  
  
"So was the investigation OK?" he asked her casually.  
  
"Yeah. It wasn't too tough."  
  
"That's nice for a change. It's been rather calm around here as well. Rick was over for dinner."  
  
"Did he talk any?"  
  
"No, not really," Harm said. Mattie had been seeing Rick a lot over the last six weeks. Sometimes at his house and sometime at Mattie's and Mac's apartment. However Rick still wasn't talking to Harm and Mac much.  
  
"Harm, I really meant that about the birthday. I really appreciate you doing this for me," she smiled again. Harm felt that Mac's constant smiling the whole evening was all the thank you he wanted.  
  
"I know you would have wanted Webb to be here and celebrate with you."  
  
"I would have wanted to celebrate with the people I care most about. That includes you and Mattie. I would have wanted to have you with me regardless of where Webb was."  
  
They sat silent for a coupe of minutes.  
  
"I think the coffee is ready," Mac noticed. Together they walked over to the counter and Mac started to take out some cups.  
  
Soon they were sitting on the couch sipping coffee, once in a while they'd say a word or two, but most of the time they were just sitting there in companionable silence.  
  
"I guess I need to go now," Mac said and yawned. She had already done so a couple of times.  
  
"I guess so," Harm said.  
  
They both got up on the same time, but neither one of them moved towards the door.  
  
"You looked beautiful tonight, Mac," Harm said only a bit louder than a whisper. Harm put his hand on her cheek and slightly brushed his thumb over her skin.  
  
"Thank you," Mac said as always not quite sure how to handle a compliment that sounded so sincere coming from Harm.  
  
Slowly they moved closer together without really thinking about what was happening. For a second their lips met to then be separated again. The second time the lips stayed in contact longer. Harm ran his fingers up through her hair and then it was over. Mac backed away from him. Their eyes reflected the same fear. A fear that this would change the relationship they had had the last couple of months. It had been better than what they had ever shared with anyone before.  
  
"Every girl deserves a birthday kiss," Harm tried to give the kiss less significance than it deserved.  
  
"I guess so," Mac said and decided to follow his cue.  
  
"Good night, Mac."  
  
"Good night, Harm."  
  
Mac backed the whole way to the door unable to take her eyes away from him. It was ridiculous maybe, but she simply couldn't turn around, though she was moving away from him with every step she took. She almost backed into the door and then she slipped out of the apartment.  
  
**TBC **


	8. 8

**AN: **All of your nice comments definitely makes me enjoy writing this story even more, thank you. And thank you Cria and TZ for beta-reading!  
  
**Part 8  
**  
"Have you changed your mind?" Harm asked Mac as he was just finishing up getting his biplane Sarah flight ready. "It's OK if you want to back out, if you don't want to go up. Not that anything will happen..."  
  
"Nothing happening and you aren't a very likely mix," Mac smiled at him "No of course we're going to go flying."  
  
Harm had convinced Mac to come with him for the first flight of the year. Sarah was still in the hangar of Mattie's old business, which had been taken over by another family who were also renting her house, but Harm had started thinking about moving Sarah to another place. Mattie wasn't comfortable coming out there and Harm wanted to keep flying as a common interest between them. He had decided to give it some more time because it might help Mattie confront her feelings about the place, but if she still didn't want to come there he would see what he should do about it. Since Mattie wouldn't come with him, he had asked Mac to come with him. Before he had never had a problem going out there alone, but now he was so used to always having company around, to always have Mac and Mattie around, that he hadn't wanted to go without Mac.  
  
Though he wanted Mac there, he didn't want her to be doing anything she felt uncomfortable with. However he was pretty sure Mac wouldn't have backed out now no matter how much she didn't want to go flying.  
  
"I thought we'd go to this beautiful meadow not to far away and then we can hike up to a little mountain where there's a nice view and we can have our picnic there. Sounds good to you?"  
  
"Sure. That's where we were going last time we went up, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Let's hope for a better result this time then."  
  
"Don't remind me of that right now please," Mac begged him.  
  
"You're the one who brought it up," Harm said rather confused. It was met by a stare from Mac that made him add "I won't, I won't. I'm ready," Harm said and nodded towards the plane "Are you?"  
  
Mac nodded at him and they both got into the plane. The take off went fine and the trip continued to pass in a nice way. They didn't talk much because there was no need. Even though it was still rather cold being just the end of March, the blue sky, the sun shining and the green grass and forests beneath them fooled their senses and made them feel like it was at least a bit warm. By the time they were approaching the meadow where Harm was going to land, Mac had actually started enjoying the flight. Harm put Sarah down pretty gently on the green meadow.  
  
"We're going up there?" Mac pointed towards the cliff she could see sticking out of the forest a bit up on the mountain.  
  
"Yeah," Harm nodded at her. He tried to take the backpack she was holding with their picnic, but she wouldn't let him. He stretched out his arm once again and she moved a few steps away from him. "Maac," he protested.  
  
"What?" Mac smiled at him and continued to step away from him.  
  
"Give it to me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"So I can carry it up the mountain."  
  
"I can do that too."  
  
"Of course you can, but please let me be the gentleman here. Humor me. I'll feel better if I'm carrying it," Harm tried to convince her.  
  
Mac turned around and started walking in the direction of the mountain. "Too bad for you," she threw over her shoulder.  
  
Harm started running after her and when he caught up with her he had so much force that his supposedly light tackle managed to knock the unexpecting Mac to the ground and have Harm following her to the ground ending up on top of her, their faces facing each other.  
  
"Gottcha," Harm said, but his attention was slipping away from the backpack, that Mac had dropped beside her when she fell, to the beautiful woman who was lying right under him. His head no longer had any control of his body, his lips slowly descended onto Mac's. Mac raised her head up to meet him and slipped her hands around his body to make sure he'd stay and not back away. They touched and felt not remembering where or who they were. Not wanting to remember anything at all. The grass was wet and slowly it was soaking their clothes, but they simply didn't care.  
  
"Harm," Mac said and it was all that was needed for Harm to remember why they shouldn't be doing what they were doing. Quickly they got to their feet and started to brush away grass and leaves that were sticking to their clothes.  
  
"I... I'm..." he didn't know what to say or what to do to explain what had happened. Did it need an explanation?  
  
"Come on. Let's go. I'm hungry, aren't you?" Mac said. Ignoring what had happened was the only way she could deal with it right now. It was the only way either one of them could deal with it.  
  
Harm grabbed the backpack and Mac followed him as they hiked up the mountain at a quick pace. They didn't talk, they were afraid to say anything. Afraid that what they had with their apartments and Mattie would be ruined if they acknowledged what had happened. Afraid that they didn't see it the same way. Insecure about how they saw it themselves.  
  
Finally they walked out of the forest and could see the view that was spreading out beneath them. Most of it was green, but here and there was a farm with fields or a lake. It was beautiful.  
  
"This is wonderful, Harm," Mac sighed  
  
"It is, isn't it?" Harm agreed wholeheartedly with her. "You were hungry, right?"  
  
"Always."  
  
They started unpacking the backpack and spread out the blanket. When they sat down and weren't moving anymore the coldness from their damp clothes caught up with them. Sharing body heat wasn't an option this time though. The conversation took off somewhat and they were talking as they were eating. Soon the conversation died down again and they just sat on the blanket looking at everything but each other. It was weird how they were able to act normally and talk and then the next minute it was extremely awkward.  
  
"Do you think we should talk about it?" Harm said.  
  
"Are we going to keep ignoring this?" Mac said at the same time.  
  
They sighed and turned their heads to look at each other and smiled. 'You go first,' they both motioned.  
  
"What's happening with us?" Mac asked "It's never been like this before."  
  
"No, not quite like this," Harm shook his head.  
  
"Why is that? Why is this happening now?" Mac asked again "Is it..." Mac swallowed, she didn't want to ask this, but something inside her forced her "Does those things happen now because I'm... unavailable? Because we can't... not really. Not for real."  
  
"No, Mac. That has absolutely nothing to do with it. For me it's what stops it."  
  
"Harm, I... I think I might be falling for you," Mac got out "Again. "  
  
"I know the feeling," Harm smiled at her and took her hand in his, braiding his fingers with hers. He felt that it was a gesture innocent enough, but it showed the affection he felt.  
  
"And it won't go away when I'm in a position where we can do something about it?" Mac really more stated then asked.  
  
"You say when?" Harm acknowledged.  
  
"Yes," Mac simply answered.  
  
"This won't go away." Harm shook his head. This would never just go away.  
  
**TBC **


	9. 9

**Part 9  
**  
Three weeks after Harm and Mac's Saturday-flight, they were still doing the we're-just-friends-until-Webb-gets-back-routine. It was starting to get tiresome, but it was what they had to do for now.  
  
At first they had been so careful not to touch each other Mattie had asked them both if they had had a fight. After a week or so it had proven to be an even worse approach than anything else. It just made them even more frustrated. Right now they were allowing the innocent touches in public, but tried to avoid it when they were alone. It was too much of a risk that something more would happen then. They had ended up kissing a few times, but they had at least not gone quite as far as they had on that meadow  
  
It wasn't just touching that was 'forbidden', they weren't expressing their emotions in words either, they didn't talk about what would happen once Webb was back and Mac could talk to him. Right now they were in a complete understanding even though they weren't talking about it. The 'rules' weren't something they had talked about either, but something they were in an agreement about to make it all work. Every day made the situation grow tougher on them.  
  
This Monday, they had driven home from work together and were now walking up the stairs to their apartments. Since it was a Monday, they still had a whole working week in front of them and they weren't really looking forward to it. As they arrived at Harm's apartment, he snuck into it and Mac continued on to hers. Harm was going to change and then come over to the other apartment where Mac was going to cook dinner. They both heard loud music coming out of Mattie and Mac's apartment and they wondered what caused it, it wasn't like Mattie.  
  
"Mattie," Mac shouted in vain when she walked into the apartment. There was no way Mattie would be able to hear her over the music. She walked over to Mattie's room and entered it. "Mattie," she tried once again and was barely heard. Mattie was sitting at her desk hunched over some books. Mac walked over to Mattie's stereo and turned down the volume.  
  
"I was listening to that," Mattie protested.  
  
"I can't believe you can work with that music playing."  
  
"It's none of your business anyway."  
  
"Excuse me?" Mac asked. This really wasn't like Mattie. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"  
  
Mattie started shaking her head, but then she gave up "Two police officers were here."  
  
"What? When? Why?" Mac asked very quickly going from annoyed to worried. She put her hand on Mattie's shoulder and turned her around so she could see her face.  
  
"Dad checked himself out from the rehab-center, got himself drunk and broke into my house out in Blacksbury. Totally scared the children of the family there. The police officers thought I'd know where he was," Mattie's anger was obvious in her whole appearance.  
  
"They talked to you even though we weren't here? Why didn't you call us?" Mac was trying to get a grip of the situation. She knew she needed to go and get Harm so he'd be informed of the situation as well.  
  
"I'm not a baby. I could handle that alone."  
  
"Mattie, you're still a child," Mac protested. At the same time they heard someone opening the door and they went out to the living room to meet who they thought was Harm. It wasn't Harm though as they would soon see. Mattie's father was stumbling across the living room floor. He had never been there before so he hadn't known exactly where to find Mattie. His face lightened up a bit when he saw her.  
  
"Mattie come over here. We're getting out of here," he slurred and waved at her to come with him.  
  
"No," Mattie simply said.  
  
"What do you mean 'no'? Just get your butt over here."  
  
"No," Mattie said once surprisingly calmly.  
  
"Mattie, go into your room and close the door, please," Mac asked her.  
  
"Who are you to tell my daughter what to do?" Johnson protested loudly and walked up closer to her "You're just like me, you just think you're better than everyone else."  
  
"Mattie, please," Mac pleaded with Mattie who still hadn't moved. She turned to look at Mattie to see if she'd turn around and walk away and then she turned herself back to watch Johnson. Right before he was in her line of sight again, Johnson's fist connected with Mac's cheek. Mac couldn't help screeching out in pain and shock. She almost lost her balance, but found it before she fell to the ground. Because of the condition he was in it was more luck than skill that his fist hit her as strong and well-placed as it did.  
  
"Mac," Mattie screamed. She had turned around at the sound of the hit and rushed over to Mac. Mac put out her arms out to make sure Johnson couldn't get to Mattie.  
  
The door to their apartment was still open and they could see Harm's door being opened. The sound from the door being opened scared Johnson and he started backing away and then running, as well and fast as he could at the moment, out of the apartment and passed Harm who tried to stop the man he didn't recognize at the moment, but seeing as he came running out of his girl's apartment, it couldn't be good. Harm tried to get a hold of him and when he did he swung him around to press him up against the wall.  
  
"You?" Harm was confused when he recognized who he had pinned up against the wall. Despite the stunk of alcohol coming from him, Harm released him at once and backed away. Johnson saw his chance to get away and continued to move towards the stairs and on down them. Harm was distracted when Mattie screamed after him. He decided to go and see what was wrong in the apartment rather than chasing after Mattie's father.  
  
"Harm," Mattie screamed desperately again. He rushed over to the apartment and was shocked to see Mac sitting on the armchair with her hand covering her cheek. Mattie was slightly hysterical and Mac was trying her best to get her to calm down.  
  
"Mattie, sit down her," she asked her and patted the place beside her on the armchair.  
  
"What happened?" Harm asked  
  
"He hit her, he hit her," Mattie screamed.  
  
Mac reached up to take a hold of Mattie and dragged her down to sit on her lap. She hugged her tightly and brushed her hands over Mattie's back trying to get her to calm down.  
  
"Everything is going to be OK. Everything will be just fine," she repeated over and over again. Harm could see the skin where she had been hit starting to change color and swell up. He went out to the kitchen to get some ice cubes from the freezer and Mac gladly accepted them when he returned. Harm kneeled in front of them and put his hands on Mattie's shoulders so she could feel that he was there for her as well. Mac felt how her shoulder started getting wet from Mattie's tears.  
  
"Mr. Johnson fell off the wagon and went out to the house. The police was here earlier looking for him and then he showed up. He just walked into the apartment and wanted Mattie to come with him," Mac spoke calmly and rather quietly trying to fill Harm in on the situation.  
  
"And he hit you?" Harm asked.  
  
Mac just nodded in response.  
  
"Mattie, did the police give you a number to call if he showed up here?"  
  
Mattie nodded into Mac's shoulder. "Are you going to call the police?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Mattie, we have to. But you don't need to worry about it," Mac said sensing Mattie's aversion to the idea.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Mac," Mattie said.  
  
"Oh Mattie you have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong here," Mac tried to convince her.  
  
"But if it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have come here. He wouldn't have hit you."  
  
"It still isn't your fault in any way," Harm said trying to convince himself that it wasn't his fault either. Logically he knew it, but emotionally he was blaming himself. He felt that he should have been at the apartment when it had all happened and not next door. He thought he would then have been able to prevent it from happening.  
  
"Do you have that phone number in your room?" Harm asked Mattie after a minute of silence.  
  
"Yeah... I'll go and get it," Mattie got up despite Harm telling her that he could go and get it.  
  
In the short time that Mattie was gone Mac filled him in a little more on what Mattie had said when Mac got home and what had happened in the apartment. They agreed that Harm would stay with Mattie and Mac would go into the kitchen and call the police.  
  
One hour later the two officers who had been there before showed up. They hadn't picked Mattie's father up yet, but they thought they would pick him up soon. At least that is what they said they thought.  
  
Mattie and Mac both told them what had happened and Mac was going to have to go into the police station the next day to fill out a report. The police officers also explained more about what had happened at the house in Blacksbury. He hadn't been physically violent against them, but the family's three children, all under the age of eight had been really shaken up afterwards. Then they left and Harm, Mac and Mattie were left to deal with the situation alone. As they had been waiting for the police to arrive, Harm had called the social worker Mrs. Lemoyne, who had been handling the original investigation on whether Harm was suitable as a parent. They had agreed that Mac and Harm were going to come in to her office tomorrow and explain more about what had happened.  
  
Though it wasn't very late Mattie was exhausted and Harm and Mac convinced her to go to bed. She had been quiet the whole time as they had been waiting for the police to get there and she only gave short answers when she was asked something. Mac and Harm followed her into her room and tucked her in. Mattie lay down on the side and they could see how her shoulders started to shake. She was obviously crying.  
  
Mac stood there at first not sure what to do, but then she let her instincts take over. She wanted to feel Mattie close to her and for Mattie to feel that she was there no matter what. She climbed up in the bed as well and wrapped her arms around Mattie. Mac could feel in her whole body all though she couldn't see her face that Mattie's sobbing had increased. Harm had remained standing not sure how he could support them the most. Mac chose for him when she for a second released her arm around Mattie to tug on his shirt to lay down behind her. He did so and soon they were lying all three spooned together. Their hearts were beating at the same pace.  
  
**TBC **


	10. 10

**Part 10**  
  
Harm and Mac were sitting on the chairs outside of Mrs. Lemoyne's office. They were both very nervous and anxious. The meeting was already five minutes delayed and it was very tough on their nerves. Exactly one week had gone by since their last meeting with the social worker. After they had told her about what had happened with Mattie's father she had decided to look into the situation again. Maybe there was going to be needed to make some changes in the arrangement.  
  
The following days all three of them, Mac, Harm and Mattie were questioned by Mrs. Lemoyne, who also came by the apartments to see how things were going there.  
  
Mr. Johnson was still nowhere to be find. The police suspected that he had left town, but they couldn't be sure. Mattie had been scared at first that he'd return and Mac or Harm had left early from work in the afternoons to make sure they'd be home when she got home from school. They were happy she seemed to be coming to terms with that part and wasn't as afraid anymore. They weren't going to be able to keep leaving early forever.  
  
It wasn't just fear that had been bothering Mattie. She still hadn't quite gotten over blaming herself for what had happened despite what Mac or Harm would tell her. She felt responsible for her father's fall off the wagon also because she hadn't been keeping up the contact with him the way she had promised Harm she would. Her father hadn't really contacted her either so much and that had caused them to not hear much from each other at all. Something both Mac and Harm had noticed, but hadn't been able to figure out a way to make better. They had tried inviting him over for dinner, but he had declined saying that he didn't feel Mattie was ready for it. Which might have been true, but she wasn't going to be more ready for it if they just continued to avoid each other.  
  
Mattie had talked a little about it with Harm and Mac, but they had soon realized that she needed to talk to someone who wasn't them before she could talk to them. They had pushed her into talking with the school's counselor, but Mattie hadn't liked that at all. After that Harm had taken her to an Alateen-meeting, which she had responded better to.  
  
The thoughts on everything that had happened during the last week went through Harm and Mac's heads as they were sitting outside waiting for Mrs. Lemoyne to call them in. Today she was going to tell them what was going to happen. They were scared that she'd criticize them in everything they had done. Not that she had given the impression that she would they were just imagining the worst case scenario.  
  
"Mr. Rabb, Ms Mackenzie, you can come in now," Mrs. Lemoyne stuck her head out of her office.  
  
Mac gave Harm an encouraging squeeze with her hand on his knee. Mrs. Lemoyne had asked that Mac join Harm for this meeting and she was glad that she got to be there. The two of them had grown even closer in the past week.  
  
"You may sit down," Mrs. Lemoyne told them when they remained standing just inside the door. Harm and Mac did so. "You don't have to be so worried," she tried to calm them both down, but that failed completely.  
  
"OK, so how has this week been for you?"  
  
"Stressful," came the unanimous answer from both Mac and Harm. All three of them smiled a little at that.  
  
"I can see why," Mrs. Lemoyne said and nodded "I had a very nice talk with Mattie last Thursday. She seems like a very mature young lady. I can see that she has developed a lot in the time that she's been living with you two."  
  
Harm and Mac nodded. That was what they thought too.  
  
"She told me you'd forced her to talk to her school counselor about what happened."  
  
"Yeah," Harm said "I think she needed to talk to someone who wasn't so close to the situation. She went to an Alateen meeting yesterday and that seems to work better though."  
  
"So have you two talked to someone else about what happened? Don't you need that too?"  
  
Harm looked down on his shoes and Mac found an interesting bird outside the window that she followed with her eyes. They had actually been talking a lot with each other about it. Harm had spent as much time as he possibly could in Mattie and Mac's apartment. Mac had been forced to convince him not to spend the night right there on the couch.  
  
"We are talking," Mac said.  
  
"To each other," Harm added.  
  
"Well I guess that's good," Mrs. Lemoyne said "During my talk with Mattie some things came up that I'd like to talk to you two about."  
  
Mac swallowed and Harm nodded.  
  
"What happened last Monday definitely shook her up, but I've tried to make myself an opinion on how Mattie is in your care regardless of what happened. From what I can tell Mattie is very pleased with how her life is right now. She says she feels very much at home with you two and that you are a family. She told me about the things you do all together. You are obviously more to her than just a room mate, Ms Mackenzie," she paused and then continued "There were some things that seem to be bothering her though, except for the whole situation with her father. She's worried about what's going to happen at the end of these six months that the judge gave you. Maybe you're aware of that too?"  
  
"Yes," Mac said "I think we feel that way all three of us."  
  
Harm just nodded in agreement.  
  
"There's something else as well. You're looking for a house?" she wanted it confirmed by Harm.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What's going to happen then?"  
  
Harm looked at her not understanding where she was going or what she wanted him to answer.  
  
"Is Ms Mackenzie going move in to that possible house too? I got the impression that this is something Mattie wonders a lot about, but doesn't dare asking you."  
  
"Ah, well. We haven't really..." Harm started. This was something they hadn't talked about at all and they both knew that they should have. It was just that at the moment it felt too much linked to their personal relationship.  
  
"That's not quite... decided yet," Mac tried.  
  
"To be honest with you. Everything would be a lot better if you were in a relationship."  
  
Mac and Harm had to work really hard at not expressing how much they agreed with her.  
  
"If you were, you could apply for guardianship and custody together then I would have been able to pretty much guarantee that you would get permanent custody of Mattie. As it is now I'm going to recommend to the judge to bring up the hearing as soon as possible and not wait another two months for it. I think it would be in the best interest of Mattie to have something more permanent. Wouldn't you agree?"  
  
"Yes," Harm said "I think you're right." He wasn't sure if she meant something more permanent as in not them or something more permanent with them. Before he got a chance to ask, Mrs. Lemoyne told him.  
  
"My recommendation is going to be that Mattie stays in your care," Both Mac and Harm sighed in relief at that "Then I'll talk to the judge and you'll talk to each other so that you can answer the judge's question better..." Mrs. Lemoyne smiled at them.  
  
After saying goodbye and Mrs. Lemoyne promising them that she'd call as soon as she knew when the hearing would be, Harm and Mac walked out of the building.  
  
"Do you have to go back to the office?" Mac asked. It was starting to get late in the afternoon and Mac herself had brought with her everything she needed from the office and she believed Harm had done the same.  
  
"No, I don't. We'll go and pick Mattie up and then to the supermarket," Harm suggested.  
  
"We need to talk, Harm," Mac said and Harm knew that she was right. "I think before we tell Mattie about the hearing, we need to talk."  
  
"Now?"  
  
"Why not? Mattie's at Rick's. She won't mind if we get there a little later."  
  
"There's a café over there," Harm pointed at a place across the street. They went over to it and each ordered a cup of coffee.  
  
"So what are we going to do?" Mac asked herself as much as Harm.  
  
"All I know is that I couldn't stand not live this close to you. Not share breakfast, dinner and all those things. All the time we spend together and with Mattie too. I couldn't imagine what that would be like anymore."  
  
"I know. I couldn't either. I want to be where you are," Mac said "It's as simple as that."  
  
"But it isn't that simple right now is it. How do we do this practically? I mean we can't just move in with each other. Everyone still thinks you're with Webb including Mrs. Lemoyne and the judge."  
  
"Harm, I AM still with Webb," Mac reminded him.  
  
"I know that. I'd just rather not remember it all the time."  
  
"It's more of a problem when we don't. I mean I like it too those moments... I just don't like myself afterwards. I'm not like this. I don't do this, I don't start new relationships when I'm still seeing someone else," Mac sighed in disbelief of the fact that she was actually doing those things.  
  
"And you think I'm like this. That I'm the kind of man who pursue women that are already involved with other men."  
  
"No, no. Of course I don't... I just don't want it to be like this anymore. All I want is... all I want is for Webb to return so I can break up with him and that feels even worse in some ways. He's out there doing who knows what for this country and all I can think is; when can I get rid of him?" Mac said. The conversation was getting far from what they were supposed to be discussing, but that didn't mean that it was useless. This was something that they had failed to talk about for a month now and they needed to voice their feelings about it.  
  
Harm hurt so much when he saw all of the suppressed emotions that had been bottled up inside Mac and was just now allowed to get out. Worst of all was that there was nothing that he could do to make it better for her. Unless he wanted to hunt down Webb and force him to come back to Washington. He stretched out his hands and touched her good cheek. The one where she had been hit was still shifting in blue, purple and green. Mac assured everyone who asked that it looked worse than it felt, but he didn't dare touching it anyway.  
  
"Mac, I want you to be happy. I don't want to see you sad... I just don't know what I can do. I don't like this situation either, but right now we can't change it and... I mean it's not like we want to go behind Webb's back, but we can't help how we feel. If he was around you'd break up with him before anything happened between us..."  
  
"Harm..." Mac reached out her hands to take Harm's hand, which was resting on the table, in hers.  
  
"So how about if I find a house to buy, you'll move in there as my tenant. I was looking for something with three bedrooms anyway and I will still need help with Mattie and paying all the expenses for the house... at least that can be the reason we tell the judge."  
  
"I think that sounds like a good plan," Mac brought up her hand to brush away a tear that had escaped her eyes. Harm was quick to take care of it instead.  
  
"Good," Harm nodded "We really need to get going now..."  
  
"I know. Let's pay and get out of here. We need to talk to Mattie."  
  
**TBC **


	11. 11

**AN: **This part wasn't really nice to me when I was writing it, but I hope you'll like it... Great thanks to Cria and TZ who were very helpful in actually getting the part ready for posting. I also appreciate the feedback you're giving me for the story. It definitely encourages me to write more and try to be better. Also about this part, I'm aware that my characterization of Trish, Harm's mom, is a bit different from what you see normally, but I don't think it's that far away from what we've seen of her on the actual show, which really isn't much. Anyway onto the story...  
  
**Part 11**  
  
Mac was standing in the kitchen making her Saturday-pancakes when there was a knock on the door. She went over to the door to open up and Mattie, who had also heard the knock, came to the door as well.  
  
"Good morning," the older nicely dressed woman behind the door said when it was opened "I'm not sure if you remember me," she added mostly addressed to Mac.  
  
"Mrs. Burnett. Of course I know who you are. Mattie, this is Harm's mother," Mac turned to Mattie to explain.  
  
"Oh... Hello Mrs. Burnett," Mattie said and shook her hand "I'm Mattie Grace, Harm's ward... but I guess you figured that out."  
  
"Did Harm know you were coming here?" Mac asked though she knew that if he had known, they would have known as well.  
  
"No, he didn't. I was flying back to US from Europe over Boston, but I had to stay an extra day and then I got to fly over Washington instead. Thought I'd stay here and visit my son for the day. He wasn't in his apartment though. You don't happen to know where he is, do you?"  
  
"I'm sure Harm will be glad to hear that. He's out running for the moment, but he'll be back any moment now. He's coming over here for breakfast anyway. You're welcome to join us," Mac offered and Trish Burnett willingly accepted. Mac led the way out to the kitchen and Mattie and she followed behind.  
  
"Do you want some coffee, Mrs. Burnett?" Mac asked "Mattie can you take out a cup?"  
  
The tensions were running high. Neither Mac nor Mattie felt really comfortable in the situation. They both looked at their watches thinking Harm should be back by now.  
  
"I can wait with coffee until we sit down and eat all of us," she made a small pause "You're both welcome to call me Trish," she offered them.  
  
"Everyone calls me Mac," Mac smiled.  
  
"OK, Mac," Trish smiled back.  
  
Neither Mac nor Mattie knew what to say or talk about, but Trish didn't have that problem.  
  
"So how did the hearing go? It was yesterday, right?" she asked. Harm had told her about the new date for the hearing right before she had left for Europe and now two weeks later she didn't know what had happened.  
  
"It was...Harm got custody of Mattie," Mac explained when Mattie didn't answer.  
  
"Was your father there?" Harm's mother continued to ask Mattie.  
  
Mattie nodded, but didn't say anything more. Mac was slowly getting a bit annoyed with Trish for continuing to ask Mattie questions about it when she was obviously uncomfortable with talking about it with her.  
  
"And how did he react to Harm getting custody?" Trish continued to ask.  
  
Mattie was quiet and Mac decided that enough was enough.  
  
"I'm sure that Harm will answer all the questions you have when he gets here. Mattie doesn't seem to want to talk about it."  
  
"Then all she had to do was say so."  
  
Harm walked into the apartment at that moment so the discussion was stopped for the while being.  
  
"Mom," he exclaimed.  
  
"Hello Harm. I thought I'd stop by and see how you all are doing."  
  
"Well, that's a surprise," Harm said and they embraced.  
  
Mac had finished making the pancakes and put the plate with them on the table. All four of them sat down at the table and started to dig in. Trish told them about her trip to Europe and Mattie surprised them with her rather large interest in art, something she had inherited from her mother. Despite the earlier questions from Trish she actually seemed more at ease with her now.  
  
After breakfast Harm left to take a shower and change and Trish helped Mac cleaning up after the meal. Mattie had a lot of catching up to do from school because of her not so great effort the previous weeks with all of the stress with her father. It was tough on her to once again have fallen behind when she was just about to be caught up with what she'd missed last term.  
  
"I'm sorry if you were offended earlier. Mattie just seems strong enough to be able to speak her mind if there's something she doesn't like," Trish tried to half-apologize and half-explain.  
  
"Right now she isn't as strong as she'd like to be."  
  
"Children are always capable of more than their parents think they are."  
  
Mac didn't say anything at all at that. Trish might have a point, but she still felt that Mattie was in need for some protection at the moment.  
  
They continued their work in silence until they were finished and Harm had returned to the apartment. He and Trish stayed there and they sat down in the living room together with Mac and caught up a little on what had happened the last couple of weeks. Harm told her more about the hearing and the upcoming trial against Mattie's father in two weeks. At the moment Mr. Johnson had been released pending the trial, but he was not allowed to approach Mattie or the apartments where they lived.  
  
"Do you still have that awful motorbike of yours?" Trish asked him all of a sudden.  
  
"No, I sold it when I started thinking about buying a house. I could use the money for that better."  
  
"I can't understand why you bought it in the first place."  
  
Harm just shrugged.  
  
"What kind of house have you been looking at then?" Trish continued to ask him. Harm explained a little about the houses they had been looking at last week.  
  
As they sat there the phone rang and Mac got up to answer the call. It turned out to be Admiral Chegwidden. He needed Mac to go into the office and handle a search warrant a NCIS-team wanted. Harm said he'd ride with her and go to the supermarket while she was in the office. He needed to pick some things up for lunch. They left and Trish stayed behind stating that she could need a quick nap after her long trip. She was going to have to leave for the airport in the late afternoon.  
  
"I hope you don't mind my mother being here," Harm said as they were driving back from Falls Church.  
  
"No of course I don't," Mac said.  
  
"I know she can be nosy at times. She seems to have an opinion about everything."  
  
"Harm, really, it's OK. I mean if my mother was around I'm sure you'd have to endure her too," Mac smiled at him. Harm pulled up in front of the building and they both got out of the car. Mac grabbed two of the big bags full of groceries in her arms and Harm also came around to the back of the car.  
  
"Stand still," he asked her as he caught a glimpse of her face. "You have something there," he touched her chin and then showed his finger with an eyelash of hers.  
  
"Thank you," Mac said quietly. She looked straight into his eyes, saying with them what she yet wouldn't let herself say with words.  
  
"You're welcome," he leaned in and gave her a quick and soft kiss on her lips. Then he grabbed the rest of the groceries and they made their way up to the apartments.  
  
Outside Harm's apartment they met Trish who had rested for a while there. She followed them back in and Harm started making lunch while Mac put the rest of the groceries away.  
  
While Harm started getting lunch ready, Mac went and rescued Mattie from her studying. Her only break had been as she shared a talk with Trish over a cup of tea earlier.  
  
After lunch Trish and Harm went out for a walk, Mattie went back to studying and Mac read a book while helping Mattie with her schoolwork.  
  
Harm and Trish walked the short distance to the park where Harm and Mac would normally go for their run.  
  
"So how is everything, Harm?" Trish asked him.  
  
"It's been tough lately. Especially on Mattie, but I think it's looking up now. We just need to go through that trial..."  
  
"Well let's hope everything goes well."  
  
"Mattie really doesn't look forward to the trial... She's worried he'll have to serve time in prison."  
  
"What? She wants to go back to live with him."  
  
"No. I don't think so. I guess she just doesn't want her father to be in prison."  
  
"Hm."  
  
"You're playing with fire with the whole situation with Mac," Trish said after a few moments of silence.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean that you and Mac need to be careful or it will all blow up in your face. She has a boyfriend, doesn't she? Mattie thinks so at least."  
  
"Yeah, she does have a boyfriend," Harm agreed "But he knows all about her living here with me and Mattie."  
  
"Does he know that you're more deeply involved with Mac then that too?"  
  
"What do you think you know?" Harm asked, but his mind was going back to meeting Trish outside his apartment, which had windows with a view over the parking lot, after coming back from Falls Church and he figured it out on his own. "It's not the way you think."  
  
"No?"  
  
"It's complicated."  
  
"Mac's alone now that her boyfriend is away and she's letting you stand-in for him for the time being... I know you've been in love with her for as long as you've known her and can't say no. I'm just afraid you'll be hurt when Mac's boyfriend comes back," Trish explained calmly.  
  
"No, Mom. It's definitely not the way you think," Harm was finally able to protest. "It's complicated because we both want it so much and at the same time we want to wait until we can have what we want for real. We want to do this the right way. Mom, you don't know Mac. You have no right to judge her like that."  
  
"Are you sure you both feel that way? Harmon, I just don't want to see you hurt by her... again."  
  
They had been walking beside each other and now Trish tried to link her arm with his, but he refused until he had gotten something else off his chest.  
  
"I was to blame for that too. And I can take care of myself," he tried to convince her. He finally agreed to link his arm with hers. "I hope you will be proven wrong soon," he added not so much to Trish as to himself.  
  
"So do I," Trish answered anyway. She smiled and the smile was met by his.  
  
"We better get back now if you don't want to miss your plane," Harm said and they turned around to walk back to the apartment. Though Harm had offered her to drive her back to the airport, she refused and said she had already ordered a taxi. Back at the apartment she only had time for a short goodbye to Harm, Mattie and Mac.  
  
"Talk to Harm about what we talked about earlier and I'm sure it won't be too long until we see each other again," Trish told Mattie. Harm and Mac were left wondering what it was all about.  
  
Harm followed her back down to wait for the taxi. It took just a minute and it was there. Harm said goodbye. Considering it had only been 9 hours long, Trish's visit had been able to stir up quite a lot of emotions.  
  
**TBC **


	12. 12

**AN: **I hope you're all still there... I know some of the last couple of parts hasn't been very exciting maybe, but they were needed to build the rest of the story up. Remember good things come to people who wait... Thanks everyone who sent in feedback. And when you're reading this part remember that anything after that scene in AGBF where the story started didn't happen.  
  
**Part 12**  
  
"Did you tell Mattie she has to go to the wedding?" Mac had returned home late at night after having spent the whole day in Norfolk. She had knocked on Harm's apartment to check that everything was all right. Mattie had called Mac on the way quite desperate wanting to get out of going to the Admiral's wedding so she could go to one of her friend's birthday party.  
  
"Yes. She wasn't thrilled, but I didn't give her much of a choice, but to come with us," Harm smiled. "Have you eaten? There's still something left from dinner."  
  
"I had a burger on the way. I was too hungry to wait."  
  
"Good. Coffee then?"  
  
"I'd love to," Mac said and started to unbutton and take off her uniform jacket. Just in her shirt she was more comfortable.  
  
"You can go to your apartment to change and come back later if you want to. The coffee will be a while anyway."  
  
"I'm quite comfortable like this," Mac answered him. It just wouldn't be the same thing if she left and came back later. In the background there was some soft music playing. Sade, Mac realized it was. It was beautiful. Mac closed her eyes just enjoying the music and the increasing scent of the brewing coffee. She rolled her head around to try to loosen up the tight muscles in her neck.  
  
"I'd offer to give you a massage, but I'm not so sure that would be a good idea," Harm had observed her. He offered her the cup of coffee and sat down beside her on the couch.  
  
"So when do we have to leave on Saturday?" Mac asked to change the subject. The Admiral's wedding was being held in Annapolis and everyone at JAG, and of course a whole bunch of other people, were invited to it. Mac, Harm, Mattie, Sturgis and Varese were going to drive over together and back later the same night as well.  
  
"Sturgis and I talked about leaving at 12 o'clock. We'll take the SUV and pick Sturgis and Varese up at his place. Sounds OK to you?"  
  
Mac nodded her head.  
  
"I'm sure it will be a nice drive."  
  
"Yeah. As long as we can convince the teenager to play along nicely too."  
  
Mac just looked at him not quite convinced of that fact.  
  
"So anything else happen at work today?"  
  
"Bud and Harriet were exhausted after AJ's birthday party. Apparently 15 five-year-olds can be pretty tiresome.  
  
"I can't believe he's five."  
  
"No. Me neither. It's getting scary thinking about how long we've known each other too. We're getting old, Marine," Harm said.  
  
"But all of the time we've known each other... I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world."  
  
Harm just smiled at her. He definitely agreed.  
  
"Did you talk to your mother about Mattie going over there this summer?" Mac asked him when they had sat silent for a few minutes.  
  
"I did."  
  
"Wow. You got a lot done when I was away."  
  
"No distractions," Harm explained and smiled a smile Mac was starting to know really well "We decided that Mattie's flying over there two weeks after school's out and she'll stay for five weeks."  
  
"It's going to be really weird without her here."  
  
"Yeah, it sure will. It's a great experience for Mattie though, working and earning some money. I'm sure working in a coffee shop will be quite different from running a crop dusting business. Maybe it will be a piece of cake for her, but it's still more suitable for her age I think."  
  
Mac nodded and added, "Even though I've heard you tell me about that sometimes when I'm around her I can't imagine that little girl who... you know... is Mattie, that she just six months ago lived on her own and ran her own business. Not that she's not independent now, she just seems like such a normal teenager."  
  
"I know what you mean."  
  
"Did your mother say anything else?"  
  
"No," Harm answered much too quickly and it was obvious to Mac that she had.  
  
"OK. You don't have to tell me."  
  
"There's nothing to tell."  
  
Mac looked at him still disbelieving, but then they went over to discuss something else. They kept talking for a while, but eventually they both sat there silent with closed eyes. All of a sudden Mac woke up from her head falling down on her chest. She realized that she had fallen asleep and now it was time to go over to her apartment. She said goodbye to Harm by kissing his cheek. He stirred and she realized he had fallen asleep as well. She kissed him on his other cheek to make sure he'd wake up so he could go to bed where he'd be more comfortable.  
  
"Goodnight, Harm," she whispered when he opened his eyes.  
  
"Goodnight my darling," he whispered back.  
  
"So how long is this really going to be?" Mattie asked as they had just picked up Sturgis and Varese. Harm was driving and Sturgis sat on the front seat next to him. Mattie was sitting between Mac and Varese in the backseat.  
  
"Mattie, with that attitude I can assure you that you will not enjoy this," Harm told her.  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
"So what have you been up to lately?" Mac asked Varese. They had met Varese on a couple of occasions in the past few months and they had hit it off pretty well.  
  
"I was in Europe last month, but otherwise I haven't been too busy."  
  
"Things have been pretty slow at JAG too."  
  
"How about you, Mattie? Have you been busy lately?" Varese asked Mattie politely.  
  
"A bit. School's been rather tough lately."  
  
"And the boys? How are things with... what's his name?"  
  
"Rick. Good. We broke up."  
  
"Oh... and that's good?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess we realized that we were better as friends. We're like Mac and Harm, you know, like brother and sister."  
  
Varese looked at Mac, who was trying her best not to give anything away about her not so sisterly feelings towards Harm. Sturgis looked at Harm much the same way Varese was observing Mac.  
  
"Really," was Varese's only comment.  
  
"I used to think they were secretly in-love with each other, but I realized that isn't true," Mattie explained to Varese.  
  
"May I have this dance?" Harm came over to where Mac was sitting. The dancing was just getting started and Meredith and the admiral had ended their first dance as a married couple.  
  
"Yes," was Mac's answer and she stood up. They started dancing and Mac whispered to him "We need to be careful. Remember we're like brother and sister."  
  
"Right," Harm said and twirled her around. "Am I still allowed to tell you that you look wonderful tonight?"  
  
"Thank you," Mac blushed a little "You look very handsome too, you know."  
  
"It was a beautiful ceremony."  
  
"Yes, it was.  
  
"I wonder for how long we'll get to keep the admiral," Harm said.  
  
"You think he will retire?"  
  
"I don't think he'll want to make the same mistake in his second marriage as in his first."  
  
The song ended and Harm and Mac walked towards where Mattie was sitting and sat down beside her.  
  
"Did you enjoy yourselves dancing?"  
  
"You were watching?"  
  
Mattie nodded.  
  
"Well I had fun," Mac said.  
  
"Me too," Harm smiled at Mac.  
  
"When are we getting out of here?" Mattie asked them.  
  
"The night is still young..." Harm said  
  
"You haven't caught any of the romantic atmosphere around here?" Mac asked her.  
  
"No... are we really going to stay here forever?"  
  
"Yes, we are really going to stay her forever," Mac answered her and stressed the word forever.  
  
Harm got up from his seat and stood in front of Mattie.  
  
"Will the beautiful young lady dance with an old sailor like me?"  
  
"I guess," Mattie answered not so enthusiastically.  
  
Soon Mac was sitting there watching them dance, and Mattie too looked like she was enjoying herself.  
  
"You have a beautiful family," an older lady, who sat at the other side of the table, said to Mac.  
  
"Thank you, but Harm isn't my husband and Mattie..."  
  
"I'm sure they aren't, but that wasn't really what I said anyway," the lady pointed out "Families come in all sorts of shapes."  
  
"Yes, they do," Mac agreed.  
  
**TBC **


	13. 13

**AN: **I hope you'll like it...  
  
**Part 13**  
  
"Do you think she suspects something?" Mac asked Harm as she started taking out the ingredients for the chocolate cake she was going to make for the next day.  
  
It was the evening before the last day of school for Mattie and they had decided to throw a party for her. They were really proud that she had gotten through the year and wasn't going to have to do the year over like some of the teachers had predicted. She had also missed out on having a birthday party in November so they thought they'd catch up on that too. They had invited her closest friends from school, but also some of their and Mattie's adult friends like the Roberts-family, Sturgis, Varese, Admiral Chegwidden and Meredith. So far Mattie supposedly didn't know anything about it. She thought Mac was over in Harm's apartment working and baking a cake for the office.  
  
"I hope not. Maybe," Harm tried to guess. He was busy making a pasta salad, which was for tomorrow as well. Some of the food they had already ordered from a restaurant since they knew they wouldn't have time to do all of it themselves.  
  
The phone rang and Harm went to pick it up.  
  
"Rabb," he said and after the person on the other side said something he said;. "Hold on a second. Mac, it's for you. It's Webb."  
  
Mac's mouth opened and closed. For over two months now she had been anxiously waiting for this particular phone call. Those months hadn't quite prepared her for it though. She walked over to where Harm was standing with the phone and took it.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"I'm glad you're back," Mac closed her eyes and then opened them again. She felt like she should turn away from Harm, but she wasn't sure for whose benefit and so she remained standing looking at him. "I'll try... yeah. See you."  
  
"That was Webb," she said unnecessary after she had hung up the phone. "He wanted...He's at home. I thought I'd go over there later if it's OK, I know we were supposed to do this all," she motioned towards the kitchen and the yet untidy room "together, but maybe I could leave later on..." Mac went back to the things she had been gathering for the cake, but when she stood in front of them she didn't know what to do with them.  
  
"Mac, go please. Just go... now. I'll take care of this," he motioned towards the kitchen and the rest of the room.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. I mean, are you?" he said worriedly. Maybe she was really having second thoughts about Webb.  
  
"Yes, I am," she pulled herself together in a second "I've never been more sure."  
  
"I'm glad you came," Webb said as he let her into the apartment. He looked tired and worn out, but otherwise he seemed to be OK. He gathered Mac in his arms, but when he leaned in to kiss her Mac turned her head so all he got was her cheek.  
  
"You've been gone for a long time. Where have you been?" she asked him still in his arms. He didn't want to let her go.  
  
"Can't say," Webb quickly answered "Sadik's dead..." he added after a few seconds. He took a step back and gathered her hands in his just standing there watching her.  
  
Mac nodded, she understood "We need to talk," Mac told him seriously. She didn't want to play this charade any longer.  
  
"OK," Webb swallowed. "Come on in." He offered her and then followed her into the living room. He motioned for her to sit down wherever she wanted to and then asked her if she wanted to have something to drink. She said she didn't so Webb just poured himself a whisky.  
  
"Clay, please. I don't want you to be... Can you just come here and sit down too?" she said from her place on the couch when she saw his glass.  
  
He looked at the glass and then put it down and walked over to sit down on the armchair opposite where Mac was sitting.  
  
"You wanted to talk," he stated.  
  
"Yes, I did. I do," Mac made a pause to gather her thoughts before she started talking. "I'm not in love with you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I need to be... I can't be with you anymore."  
  
"I know," Webb said again.  
  
"You do?"  
  
"I do. I knew it was only a matter of time until you wouldn't need me anymore," he looked at her trying to smile, but failing.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"You've got nothing to be sorry about, Mac. I knew what I was getting myself into and... I'll admit that I had other reasons... feelings... for wanting to be with you, but the truth is I also needed you for the same reason that you needed me. Right then I couldn't handle being alone. I needed someone, anyone."  
  
Mac swallowed. This was news to her. She had thought he was with her only because of romantic feelings. In fact that was what she had thought about herself too at the time. She hadn't seen the real truth back then. Knowing Webb had had similar fears as she had, made it easier for her to talk about it and to be honest with him.  
  
"There's something else I need to tell you. I want you to hear it from me and not from anyone else. It's about Harm. We... we've figured some things out. We're going to try to be together."  
  
Webb looked at her not very surprised at the statement, but at the way she said it "You don't sound so sure."  
  
"Oh, I am. It's just... I'm sorry. I don't want you to think I planned this."  
  
"I don't. And I'm sorry I stopped being your friend. Remember I said I thought you already had the right guy. I should have pushed you back in the right direction instead of taking advantage of your problems."  
  
"If you had pushed me away in that direction there wouldn't have been anyone there to catch me. I had already made certain of that."  
  
"I think you're underestimating Harm there."  
  
Mac was quiet for a moment not knowing if he was right. She had made all those phone calls and left all of those messages on Harm's answering machine without any luck to get hold of him, but if she had really needed him of course he would have come. There was no doubt about that, she realized that that that was her true belief deep down. It was just as true for her. She would have come for him too. Maybe the bigger problem then would have been to admit that she did need him and not just anyone.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want anything? How about some coffee? We can talk and I'll be the friend I should have been last summer when we got out of Paraguay."  
  
"And so will I, Clay," she smiled genuinely at him and walked with him out to the kitchen.  
  
Two hours later when she drove up and parked the car in front of her home, she could see the lights still being on in Harm's bedroom. She got out of the car and walked up the stairs to the apartments. She had barely knocked on the door before it was opened. Harm wanted to take her into his arms, but he sensed that it wasn't really what Mac needed right now.  
  
"I just wanted you to know that I'm home."  
  
Harm nodded and though he was curious to how it had gone he didn't ask anything.  
  
"I'll tell you about it tomorrow, OK? I need some time to... I don't know take it all in maybe."  
  
"You were there for a long time," Harm stated. His curiosity was bigger then his good sense.  
  
"We had a lot of things to talk about... You did tell me I could go."  
  
"I just didn't think it would take so long."  
  
"What did you think I was going to do? Pop in, tell him it's over and leave?" Mac wondered. She was tired and drained of energy and that made her annoyed and irritated, most of all with herself for getting annoyed and irritated.  
  
"That's not what I meant," Harm answered her very defensively.  
  
"Harm, I just need to be alone right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow."  
  
When he nodded in understanding, she turned around and walked over to the door of her apartment. There she turned around and looked at him.  
  
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," she said once more and this time there was obvious warmth in her voice. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Tomorrow," Harm said.  
  
**TBC **


	14. 14

**AN: **Thanks for all of the reviews! You guys are great!

**Part 14**  
  
Harm and Mac had decided to talk the next day, but it went by in such a rush that they didn't get the time to sit down and talk to each other at all except about the last preparations for the party. After dropping Mattie off at her school, they went in to the office for a two hours high-speed work session before they left to go home and get everything ready in Harm's apartment. The working colleagues of Mac and Harm were going to join them as soon as they could and Rick's mother was going to drive some friends of Mattie's over to the apartment. Mac and Harm would go and get Mattie at the school.  
  
When they drove up by the school, Mattie was the only one still there.  
  
"You're late," she said when she jumped into the car.  
  
"We were working and lost track of time," Mac answered her.  
  
"Is it OK if we just drop you off at the apartments before we head back to the office. You can order pizza if you want to."  
  
"You know I could have taken the bus," Mattie said a bit disappointed with their seemingly lack of interest for how the day had been. She had thought they would at least ask to see her grades. They were in an envelope securely tucked in her hands.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us that this morning?" Harm asked her and Mac tried to warn him that they were approaching going over the top.  
  
"Hmpf," was Mattie's only answer.  
  
They drove up and parked the car in front of the building and all three of them stepped out.  
  
When Mattie looked at them puzzled Mac said, "I need to go up and get something from the apartment.  
  
They walked up the stairs and Mac and Harm made it out so that Mattie was walking ahead of them.  
  
"The number to that new pizza place is in my apartment if you want to get it," Harm told her hoping that she would fall for the bait.  
  
Mattie didn't answer just stalked up the rest of the stairs took out her key and unlocked the door to Harm's apartment and swung it open angrily.  
  
"Surprise!" everyone in the apartment shouted. Mattie's mouth opened and she was gaping in shock. They had definitely succeeded in surprising her.  
  
"You did this," Mattie said looking at all of the food that was on the kitchen counter and all of her friends who were gathered in the apartment before turning around to look at Harm and Mac.  
  
"Yes, but you're the one who did the really hard job with school this year," Mac said.  
  
"Mattie, we're both so proud of you and everything you've accomplished these last months. We wanted to celebrate that with you and with your friends," Harm told her. Mattie threw her arms around both of them at the same time. The three of them stood together in this big family group hug and not one of them wanted to let go of the other.  
  
Soon the party was in full blow. Mattie spent a lot of time with her friends, but sometime during the early evening she came up and talked to Mac, who had walked over to the counter to start putting some things away so they wouldn't be ruined. The Roberts-family had just left, but the rest of them were going to stay longer.  
  
"So is Webb coming later? I was surprised you came home at all last night after he called and said he was back in town."  
  
"No, he's not coming," Mac made a pause. She hadn't planned on telling Mattie about the break up today, because she didn't want her to feel like Mac was unhappy, but since she was asking she felt she had to tell the truth. "We broke up."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"No it's OK. He probably won't be around so much anymore, but we're still friends so... so it's OK."  
  
"You're the one that broke up with him?" Mattie asked.  
  
Mac just nodded. Mattie gave Mac a quick hug.  
  
"You know it's OK to be a sad even if you're the one who wanted it," Mattie told her.  
  
"I guess I'm mostly sad about that there were so many things that were wrong with us being in a relationship in the first place, but it still didn't keep us from going through with it. I wonder if things had been different... better if we hadn't," Mac made a pause "I'm sorry, Mattie. I didn't mean to talk so much about me. This is your day."  
  
"It's OK, Mac, more than OK. You're my friend and I care about you. Besides you're one of the two reasons that this day is 'mine'," Mattie looked at her for a moment "I'm really glad that I've got you," she said and nodded before she returned to her friends.  
  
"What was that about?" Harm stepped up to Mac. He had seen the whole exchange between them, but he hadn't listened in on the conversation. He helped her getting the rest of the food away.  
  
"I told her about Webb and me," Mac answered.  
  
"Oh. How did she take it?"  
  
"Wasn't much to take I guess. She just seemed to worry that I was OK with it."  
  
"Are you? Breaking up with someone is never especially enjoyable, is it?"  
  
"No, but I'll be fine. I am fine," Mac answered him looking straight at him "We need to talk."  
  
"We can't right now."  
  
"No, but we will later. Whenever you want to. I'm sorry about last night. I was so tired and I needed to be alone. Talking to Clay made me realize so many things about myself and about our relationship, I needed time to process."  
  
"Mac, you don't have to apologize. I understand now, I do."

* * *

"Harm, where are we going?" Mac asked when Harm took a different turn off the highway then what would bring them to Falls Church. "We're going to be late for work."  
  
"If I don't get to talk to you now, I won't get any work done anyway."  
  
"Good point I guess, but where are we going?"  
  
Once Harm had parked the car Mac saw where they were heading. It was the café across the street from Mrs. Lemoyne's office.  
  
"I thought we were able to talk so well last time we were there," Harm said when he understood that Mac knew where they were going.  
  
"We were."  
  
They went into the small café and sat down on the same spots that they had had last time.  
  
"So."  
  
"So."  
  
"Where do we go from here?" Harm asked.  
  
"Anywhere as long as we go together," Mac said and added "I really want this. I really want us. Sometimes I wonder if I did something to make you doubt that."  
  
"No you didn't. I don't. Not really. It's just... I don't want you to do this just because you feel obligated to and that's why I keep asking you if you're sure. All I ever wanted and all I want is for you to be happy, whether it's with me or with someone else... I know it might not have seemed that way always but... I guess I realized more how to show that the last couple of months with you and Webb."  
  
"You did, you were wonderful," Mac warmed her hands on her coffee cup "And Harm, I want you to be happy more than I want that for myself, but I still think you should know that I am never more happy than when I am with you." Mac looked at him and laid out her hands in front of her on the table. Just before he was going to take them, he caught a glimpse of someone he knew out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Mr. Rabb, Ms Mackenzie what are you doing in this neighborhood? I thought you worked out in Falls Church," Mrs. Lemoyne had come up to them and started talking.  
  
"We do. We just..." Harm hoped that Mac would know something to fill in that they could have been doing in these parts of the city. Mac quickly redraw her hands to rest on her lap.  
  
"We have a witness to interview here, but we were early so we needed to do something in the meantime," Mac conjured up after a few seconds too much of silence.  
  
"You know you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm really quite harmless."  
  
"We'll try to remember that," Harm smiled at her.  
  
"How is Mattie doing?"  
  
"She's fine. Right now at home asleep, it's the first day out of school," Harm answered her.  
  
"Right. And when is it that Mattie's leaving for... where was it?"  
  
"She's going to stay with my mother in La Jolla, California. She's leaving in two weeks. We're going for a week vacation to the beach before that though."  
  
"Oh, well I hope you have a nice time then," Mrs. Lemoyne said and walked back to her table where she was sitting with a colleague of hers.  
  
Mac and Harm just looked at each other and then decided to get up and leave the café.  
  
"I guess we need to go to work now," Harm said once they were outside the café walking towards the car.  
  
"Harm, do you ever have the feeling that we're in a movie and the director really doesn't want us to get together? All these people who suddenly show up when we are starting to get somewhere, Webb at that hotel in Paraguay, Mrs. Lemoyne right now."  
  
"I haven't really thought of it that way."  
  
"Remember when we saw that movie with Jim Carrey about that guy who's whole life was built up in a studio and they had to take all of these measures to keep him in there so he wouldn't find out about it."  
  
"Yeah... But as far as I recall he did eventually sail off and discovered the end of the horizon."  
  
"He did."  
  
"Well we'll get there too. We're just a few feet away," he stretched out his hand to her and they stopped walking. "Mattie's going to that party tomorrow and she won't be home until it's really late so I was thinking... we could go out and have dinner and... maybe call it a date."  
  
"Definitely call it a date," Mac surprised him by sneaking up and putting her hands on his face to give him a kiss.

**TBC**


	15. 15

**AN: **Hey, remember me? And the story? I really didn't mean it to be so long between postings, but I hope I can better myself... Thank you so much Cria and TZ for sticking with me. I also want to thank everyone who encourages me to write. Since I haven't had that much time lately it has helped even more then usually.  
  
**Part 15**  
  
"So Mattie is off," Harm said after they had left Mattie and her friends Kate and Jane at the party. Kate's mother was going to go and pick them up so Mac and Harm were free for the rest of the evening.  
  
"Yeah, I hope they'll have a nice time."  
  
"I'm sure they will."  
  
They were both silent for the rest of the drive and it wasn't the comfortable silence they had gotten used to sharing the last couple of months. It was uncomfortable to say the least.  
  
They walked into the restaurant still very tense and nervous. It was silly maybe because they knew each other so well, they were more than practically living together, but for some reason this was starting out to be a really awkward type of first date. They were both trying to figure something out that would break the 'ice', but neither one of them was able to come up with anything that worked.  
  
They ordered some Greek specialties, it was a Greek restaurant they were at, and once the food was there at least they could share their thoughts on the food.  
  
"This tastes good," Harm said about his mousaka.  
  
"It looks good," Mac said "This is great too. It's a nice restaurant."  
  
"They have good food."  
  
Mac didn't know what to say next.  
  
"Do you want to try some?" Harm offered her and tried to get some of the mousaka on his fork, but wasn't very successful. The more he tried the worse it went. Finally he gave up and was just about to give over his whole plate to her.  
  
"No, it's OK;" Mac stopped him in his movement.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Mac nodded.  
  
"OK," Harm said.  
  
Since they weren't talking a lot, they had both finished their meals rather fast. When the waitress came back asking them if they wanted dessert. They had such a trouble deciding if they actually did that she offered to come back later. Both of them really wanted to leave. Not so much to get away from each other, but to get away from the awkward situation. At the same time they didn't want to say that they wanted to get out of there to the other. It was rather tricky, but eventually they were able to agree to go home and have some coffee there instead of at the restaurant.  
  
They went into Harm's apartment and he started a pot of coffee.  
  
"I think there's still some cake left if you want," Harm informed her. They both reached for the door of the fridge to open it. Their hands touched and instead of opening the fridge they just stood still. They both raised their heads so that they were looking into each other's eyes.  
  
Milliseconds later Mac was propped up against the still closed door of the fridge with Harm's arms around her holding her tight. They were kissing each other senseless trying to touch and taste the uncovered, but still unknown body parts. Both of them were working on getting the other out of their clothes.  
  
"Mac, let's go into the bedroom," Harm suggested between kisses when they were standing there in just their underwear.  
  
"You don't have a bedroom..." Mac protested, but when Harm moved his head away from her daring her to fight him on this "But I guess you do have a bed..." he resumed kissing her and they were both very pleased about that. Harm lifted Mac up and she wrapped her legs around his waist "Wait," Mac said and Harm stopped walking, but still held on to her "Harm, I'm not on the pill."  
  
"I have supplies," Harm quickly said before Mac had a chance to ask him.  
  
"Good," Mac breathed out in relief.  
  
"That was..." Mac said later the same evening when they were lying close together, their legs tangled in the other's and in the sheets. Mac could feel Harm's breath landing on her face as they were both working hard to get their breaths to calm down.  
  
"... so amazing," Harm agreed and pushed away a stray of hair that was in Mac's face. "You are so amazing. I only wish you could stay here tonight. The whole night."  
  
"I do too."  
  
There was a quick double knock on the door and then Mattie opened it and asked into the apartment: "Harm, are you decent?" To always come in and talk to Harm after she had been out at night was rule they had both agreed on.  
  
"Hold on a second," Harm got up from the bed and unnecessarily put his finger to his mouth in a motion for Mac to be quiet. He then threw on his bathrobe, which lay on the chair beside the bed.  
  
"Hey," he said to Mattie once he came out from behind the wall "Did you have a nice time tonight?" He hoped she wouldn't walk around the counter and see the piles of clothes that lay there  
  
"It was OK. Not that special, I guess. Had you already fallen asleep?" Mattie asked.  
  
"Mm, yeah..."  
  
"OK. I'll get going then. I promised Mac I'd tell her I was home too."  
  
"Ah... she isn't home yet."  
  
"Oh. Is she with Webb? Are they back together?"  
  
"No... I don't think so. I'm sure she won't be long though."  
  
"Well then. Good night, Harm," she waved and left the apartment.  
  
Harm went back to the bed where Mac started to get up as soon as she could hear the door being shut.  
  
"You don't have to go yet..." Harm protested  
  
"I know. I'm just not so sure I'd be able to leave at all if I stayed any longer now," she smiled at him.  
  
"But it will be suspicious if you come home to the apartment now..." he playfully grabbed her around her waist and placed her back on the bed beneath him.  
  
"You don't want to tell Mattie about us," Mac stated.  
  
"No, I don't. Not yet," he confirmed and lay down beside her instead "I just think this will take some time to figure out. Not if we're going to be together, but how... and I guess I don't want to drag Mattie into that already."  
  
"So it's not because you think this is going to fast."  
  
"No. Well, I guess this being our first date and all you could say that it's all happening rather fast, but... to be honest it doesn't feel like it's too soon or too fast."  
  
"I know. It feels..." she paused trying to find the right word "It feels just right," Mac said and then added "And I guess you're right about why we shouldn't tell Mattie yet, even if I won't like lying to her. This date of ours definitely showed that we need to practice this a bit more."  
  
"I think we ended it quite well..." he leaned over to kiss her. She couldn't help herself, but to meet his kiss.  
  
"Harm," she protested when she felt his hands starting to once again remove her underwear. "You know I have to go, besides..." she nodded towards the wall which on the other side had Mattie's room. "We're not exactly quiet..." She forced herself to get up from the bed, go out to the kitchen to gather the rest of her clothes and start to get dressed.  
  
Harm followed her out to the kitchen and then walked with her to the door "My darling," he kissed her once again "Will I see you tomorrow?"  
  
"Try to avoid me."  
  
**TBC **


	16. 16

**Part 16**  
  
"I can't believe you didn't get anything done yesterday when I was at the mall," Mattie told them as they finally got into the car to drive off to North Carolina where they had rented a little house directly by the beach.  
  
Mac looked at Harm. To say that they hadn't done anything wasn't exactly true, but it wasn't something they could tell her.  
  
"Well, it was the first day of our vacation sort of so we wanted to take it easy," Harm said. Since they were going to live for a week in the small house they had rented, Mac and Harm had realized it would be hard to find time to relive their newfound closeness and had taken advantage of the situation with Mattie out of the apartment.  
  
"And we're not that late."  
  
"I guess not. It's just... I look so much forward to this, I never went on a lot of vacations..." Mattie told them "I'm so glad we're doing this all three together," she finished.  
  
"So are we," Mac and Harm said at the same time and in total agreement.  
  
"Now you're scaring me," Mattie said and laughed. She looked more relaxed than she had for a really long time.  
  
"This is really nice," Mattie said when Mac sat down beside her on the porch looking out over the beach and the ocean.  
  
"Yes, it is. Mattie... are you OK?" Mac asked. Mattie had seemed a little bit down ever since dinner. They could hear Harm working in the kitchen. Even though he had cooked dinner he hadn't let Mac or Mattie help him with the cleaning up.  
  
"Yes," Mattie turned her head to look at her "I was just reminded of something."  
  
Mac wanted to let Mattie tell at her own speed, so she just remained sitting there beside her and put her arm around Mattie and moved closer to her.  
  
"It's getting cold."  
  
"Yeah," Mattie agreed, she was looking out across the beach and the sea, the sun had already set "We did go to the beach for a vacation once, my parents and I."  
  
"Something happened?" Mac asked carefully.  
  
"Yeah," she made a pause "I guess I thought things would be different then. They wouldn't fight... my father wouldn't drink... Mom... but it was just the same. Only worse because I couldn't get away from it there..." Mattie was shaking a bit from the cold and Mac took off her jacket to put it around her instead "When Mom was still alive, we fought a lot, she didn't keep her promises... and... and she drank too. Not like Dad, but still..."  
  
"Oh Mattie. I never knew that."  
  
"No, because I didn't tell you. After she died, I think in a way I forgot about how things had really been like at home when we all lived together... I still do love her just like I did then, I'm just remembering that she wasn't perfect... just like my father isn't."  
  
"Just like we all aren't. I'm not perfect, Harm isn't perfect and you aren't perfect. No one should expect us to be. And I know you love your parents, there isn't a doubt in my mind about that. I can see that you are beginning to come to terms with your life with them, being able to remember these things is a sign of that, I think. I can't tell you how glad I am that you're working on being able to forgive your father and... maybe your mother too?"  
  
Mattie nodded slightly.  
  
"You should know, it took me 15 years to get that far and I don't want that for you. I want something better for you."  
  
They were silent and they could hear that Harm had stopped buzzing around in the kitchen, but he hadn't joined them out on the porch.  
  
"You know I don't think I'll ever be able to figure you and Harm out."  
  
Mac laughed "I think you have that in common with a lot of people... including us."  
  
"Are we always going to be together like this? I mean what will happen if you or Harm start dating? Can we still live together?"  
  
"Yes," Mac said "I know it might be hard to understand, but during the 8 years Harm and I have known each other we've been as close as two people can be, but also at times we've been oceans apart. We have a special bond, we just can't get away from each other, not even when we want to, especially not when we want to. We always end up coming back to each other." Mac looked out over the ocean. It was hard for her not being able to tell Mattie that neither she nor Harm was looking to start seeing someone else, but she had agreed with Harm not to tell her and she needed to keep that promise at least for now.  
  
"Mac, are you in love with him? Is that why you broke up with Webb?" Mac's words had given Mattie a sudden realization.  
  
Mac looked at her in surprise over getting the question "That is... that isn't a question I can give you the answer to."  
  
Mattie nodded. "It's OK. I know it's really none of my business."  
  
"Mattie, that isn't it. It's just complicated."  
  
"Mm, isn't it always?" Mattie shivered despite Mac's jacket "Let's go inside. I'm totally ready to go to bed and it's really cold too."  
  
"Yeah," Mac agreed and went after Mattie into the little cabin, where Harm had already gotten the beds ready for the night. Mattie and Mac were sharing the double bed and Harm had the single bed. The cabin really only had one room which was both kitchen and bedroom at the same time plus the small bathroom. It was cramped, but OK since they really didn't plan on spending especially much time there anyway, just the nights.  
  
"Mac," Harm whispered into her ear "Mac," he said once more a little louder.  
  
"Mm," Mac wrapped the cover tighter around herself wanting to continue to sleep.  
  
"Mac, wake up."  
  
"Harm, I don't want to," she told him, but it was already too late.  
  
"Hush, be careful so you don't wake Mattie." He took her hand and practically dragged her out of the bed. Mattie was starting to move a little in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. "Get dressed, I'll wait out on the porch."  
  
Before Mac had a chance to protest to being woken up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, he had left and she decided that she could just as well get dressed since she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep now anyway. Two minutes later she joined Harm in front of the house.  
  
"What took you so long?" he said and smiled at her obvious annoyance with him and the wake up.  
  
"Hmpf. What is this all about? Why aren't you sleeping?"  
  
"Because... I'm all alone in that bed and you're so close, yet so far away," he complained and stepped up closer to her. "And the sun will be up soon. I thought we'd watch the sunrise..." he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. His hand found hers and they braided their fingers together. "Come one, let's go."  
  
They started walking. Harm was carrying a bag with a blanket sticking out of it. After a while they stopped and spread out the blanket. Harm sat down and Mac joined him, sitting between his legs. He put his arms around her body and rested his head on her left shoulder and Mac put her hands above his and leaned back against him.  
  
"Do you think Mattie's going to be OK?" Mac asked him.  
  
"I hope so... but it sure isn't going to be easy to let her leave now. I know Mom will look after her and maybe it will be good with some change of scenery for her, but still... She isn't talking so much about how she feels with us, it's going to be hard when we can't see how she is every day."  
  
"I know. We talked for a while yesterday," Mac told him, although she knew that he of course had noticed that.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About her parents mostly. Did you know her mother had a problem with alcohol too?"  
  
"No," Harm said and she could feel him shaking his head. "I was under the assumption she had been the one who was holding the family together."  
  
"I guess the pressure became too much for her or something. Mattie said she hadn't remembered it before. I don't think she wanted to remember it."  
  
"Sometimes people do that. They're in denial on the things that they can't deal with. Maybe it's a good sign that she's remembering. That she's safe enough to be able to deal with it now."  
  
Mac sat silent and thought about what Harm had said. The meetings with her Alateen-group was obviously helping her learning to understand her feelings towards her father and her whole situation. Harm was probably right about what was happening now with her, she was just now able to recognize all the things she had to work through, because if she had earlier it would have seemed like too much to start dealing with at all. It might still have to become worse before it could be really good for her again.  
  
"We talked about something else too."  
  
"Mhm, about what?"  
  
"About us. You and me. She told me she couldn't figure us out and she asked if I'm in love with you."  
  
"Oh. What... What did you say?"  
  
"You still don't want to tell Mattie about us, do you? I didn't really tell her anything. I'm not sure if that was right, but... What do you think I should have said? I mean I think she understood how I felt, but I didn't really even hint that we were working anything out... I thought we should tell her that together."  
  
"I agree, I think that when we do it, we should do it together, but not yet, no. I think we should tell her when she comes back from California. How do you feel about that?"  
  
"If that's what you think is best. In a way I agree. I think you are right, it doesn't really make that much sense to tell her now when things between us might still seem so insecure to her. Maybe she'd just be more worried if we told her now. But on the other hand, lying... I don't know it just doesn't seem right."  
  
"But what are we going to do? I can't tell her 'Oh, Mac's spending the night at my place tonight, I hope that's OK with you'"  
  
"No, but that's not what I meant either. I doubt that's even something she wants to know about, I'm just saying that I don't like keeping things from her like this."  
  
"I don't like the fact that we'd be lying either, but I still think it's the best option we have. She's leaving in just over a week and then it won't be so hard... I mean we'll be able to tell her a whole lot without her really knowing and it will give us some time to really figure this thing with us out."  
  
"Are you really sure about this?" Mac turned herself around in his embrace so she could see his face.  
  
"Yes," Harm said and nodded.  
  
"Good. Then I think we should start working at figuring out that thing with us..." she was silenced by Harm's lips. They were done talking for this time.  
  
The rest of the vacation went by fast. Harm and Mac enjoyed many early mornings out on the beach watching the sunrise. Mattie was rather confused about that stating that it was the same sun that was shining all day and you didn't have to go up at such an un-human time to see it. The rest of the days they spent out on the beach sun bathing and swimming. One day they all went into the closest town and visited the little amusement park.  
  
Mattie kept on opening up more to both Harm and Mac for the rest of the week. It made them both feel better about her leaving in just one week. She still wasn't telling them everything, but they were also learning that just because they had to drag something out of her, it didn't mean she didn't want to talk to them about it. Trish was going to make sure that she could go to the closest Ala-teen group when she was away too.  
  
All in all the calm vacation had been very good for them. Harm and Mac were closer than ever and Mattie had been much more open with them and with herself. When they had arrived in North Carolina they, and especially Mattie, had all been exhausted, but they left the house a week later thoroughly rested and ready for the next challenges they would face.  
  
**TBC **


	17. 17

**AN: **Remember me? And the story? I thought I'd repeat the same AN as in part 15... never meant to keep you waiting and I definitely didn't think it would be this long though. The whole story is finished now so as long as I get some time with the computer... postings shouldn't be too far apart fingers crossed. Many thanks to everyone who encourages me and helps me to write this story. I think especially of Cria and TZ.

**Part 17 **

"Hey, Mac, you don't have to look like we're going to someone's funeral. I'm coming back you know," Mattie said. They were in the car on their way to the airport. Harm had been forced to go to work since he had court, so it was just Mac who was driving Mattie to the airport for her stay in California.

"I know, I know. I'm just going to miss you so much and I will worry..." Mac paused.

"There's nothing for you to be worried about. I'm fine, I'm doing great," Mattie protested.

"Well, that's what scares me. I'm not so sure you'd tell me if you weren't."

Mattie sighed, she couldn't truthfully say that she was always honest about how she felt. She knew that she had been hiding herself from Harm and Mac.

"Would you feel better if I promised to tell you when I'm not fine?"

"You think you could do that?"

"Yes, well I could try..."

"How do you feel right now?" Mac tried asking.

"I'm... I'm nervous. More like petrified. But I look forward to this too. I've never been to the west coast and I really look forward to working. It's something special, you know, to earn your own money."

"I know, it is, but after this spring and all the work you put in for school I think you deserve some time off as well."

"But I'll get that too. School doesn't start right away when I get back so I'll have plenty of time to just sit around and do nothing."

Mac looked at her and smiled. She really couldn't imagine Mattie sitting around doing nothing.

"Mattie, you should know," she said after a short pause "I don't expect you to give up as soon is gets tough, but if you really want to go home there's nothing that can stop us from getting you home again."

"I know, but I won't give up so easily."

"I know that."

The rest of the drive they kept on chatting and Mac gave the last instructions. Mattie promised to use sun screen and eat properly. At the airport some tears were spilled and then Mattie was off to her adventure.

"So have you anything special planned for the weekend?" Mac suggested a few days after Mattie had left. They had spent the days busily working both at the office and in the evenings at home. In the days after their return from the vacation they hadn't spent so much time catching up, because they had been so busy spending the last couple of days with Mattie preparing for her stay with Harm's mother. Now they had had even more to catch up on.

"Is spending the weekend in bed with a beautiful brown-eyed Marine an option?" he asked suggestively.

"Yes... so the nights aren't enough for you?" After Mattie had left Mac had spent every night at Harm's apartment. Mac went over to him and kissed him slowly before backing away a little just to have him come after her. Before they had a chance to take it any further the phone started ringing.

"I have to get that, it might be Mattie," Harm said and backed unwillingly away from her. So far they had talked to Mattie everyday. She said she liked it over there. There were of course many new things to learn so she came home every day completely exhausted. Today was her day off and she had told them she was going to spend the day at the beach. She had already befriended the two teenage girls in the neighboring house, so she didn't have to spend the day alone.

"Hello," Harm said. He was quiet for a really long time when the person on the other side of the phone seemed to explain something. Meanwhile Mac started getting dinner ready. Harm had suggested that they'd go out to dinner. That was what they really needed to practice as a couple and they had a two weeks anniversary to celebrate, but at the end of the workday they had both been so tired that they had wanted to just spend the evening and the night together at home.

"I think I'd like to see it again first, but yes I think I might still be interested," Harm said and waited while the other person said something. "Tomorrow 10 o'clock... sure I think that could work, if not I'll call you back." He got the number and hung up the phone.

"That was the real estate agent. Remember that house I made an offer on in March and someone else offered more."

"Yeah," Mac nodded. He had really only made an offer on one house though they had all looked at several, but none had seemed so wonderful, so perfect that he'd wanted to buy them.

"Well, the people that bought it has to move back to Utah to take care of some mother who had fallen ill, I think. Anyway they're looking to sell as soon as possible. The house is almost emptied already. The agent wanted to give me a first chance if I still want it before they start advertising. Are you up to take a trip away from the bed tomorrow?"

"You're not sure you want the house anymore?"

"I am. I just don't want to seem to eager. They seemed really eager to sell fast."

"Sure we can look at it, but as far as I recall that house was pretty much what we wanted."

"So what do you say?" Mrs. Smith, the real estate agent, asked "Are you still interested?"

"I'd like to talk to Mac here about it first," Harm answered her. He had troubles hiding his excitement with the house. The new-old owners had repainted some of the rooms in nicer colors and also renovated the bathroom upstairs to a more practical one with a bathtub and two sinks. Upstairs were also three bedrooms, but they were both in their minds already planning on making one of them into an office. Downstairs was also a bathroom and a bedroom, in their minds Mattie's room, a kitchen and a large dining and living room. It was just the size that they wanted and it was in southeast of Washington so at least they weren't going to come further away from work, then they had been with the apartments.

"OK. You know what I need to go into the office now. Why don't you take the keys and you can take an extra look before you lock up and come in by the office with the keys? If your still interested in other houses you could look at what we've gotten in lately."

"I think it sounds like a good plan or what do you say, Mac?"

"Sure," Mac agreed.

"I'll see you in a while then."

"So how long do you think we should wait until we follow her?" Mac asked playfully when Mrs. Smith. She knew Harm had already made up his mind.

"Are you as sure as I am about this house?" Harm asked her. "Could you imagine yourself living in this house with me and Mattie?"

"Oh, I could definitely do that. There's just one thing," Mac said. They were walking through the house and had stopped in the kitchen. There was no furniture, so there was really no place to sit down on. From the kitchen there was a glass door leading out to the backyard. Harm opened the door and they sat down on the little steps that led down to the ground. "I don't want you to buy this house."

"What?" Harm said rather shocked. He thought he had seen the same excitement about the house in her eyes as he had felt himself.

"I want us to buy this house."

"Oh... Are you sure? I mean this is a pretty big step... commitment... buying a house. Together."

"Yeah, I'm sure, but if you aren't... then to be honest I don't think either one of us should buy it. If we still need more time to take this slowly, we should do it in our two apartments, not in one house."

Harm nodded "Yeah, you're right... and I'm sure too. I'd love us buying this house together."

"Good," Mac sighed in relief. Her hand was resting on Harm's leg. "You still didn't answer my question, how long should we wait here?"

"I don't know... for a while. So do you think we should make the bedroom on the right our bedroom?"

"Our bedroom. I can't wait for that to happen," Mac said. Harm had raised his left hand that wasn't covering Mac's and was slowly cherishing her hair.

"This is forever, right?" He whispered before his lips descended on hers.

"Forever."

Twenty minutes later Harm and Mac left the house and headed over to Mrs. Smith's office. They had decided to make an offer close to what Harm had wanted to pay for the house last time. They still needed to talk to the bank about the loan, but they were going to fix that first thing on Monday.

Mrs. Smith was pleased with the number and said that it was something that the owners would accept. As soon as they had gotten an OK with the bank they were going to sign the paper.

**TBC**


	18. 18

**Part 18 **

"Hello Mattie. How are you? I'm so glad you're calling," Mac had answered Harm's phone. They had just returned from work and the meeting with the bank, Harm needed to pick something up in the small neighborhood store on the street and Mac had gone up ahead of him. Tomorrow they had an appointment with Mrs. Smith and they were going to give her an official offer to present to the owners. Neither Harm nor Mac had talked to Mattie since Thursday, so she still didn't know about the house. Mattie was busy telling Mac about what had happened there lately and once Harm had returned, Mac told her that they were putting her on the speakerphone. Together they told her about them making an offer on the house. Mattie was thrilled with the fact that they were buying the house together and the house definitely got her approval too.

Some minutes later, Mattie told them she had to go and that Trish wanted to talk to Harm. Harm put her off the speakerphone and Mac motioned that she was going to go back to her apartment to change. Though she spent almost all the time at home in Harm's apartment, she still had all of her clothes in her apartment.

Harm started retelling Trish about the house as well. She was shocked by the fact that they were going to buy the house together. Harm hadn't talked to her about how his and Mac's relationship had developed since Mac had broken up with Webb. It didn't feel comfortable talking about it with her when they weren't talking to Mattie about it. Trish thought they were moving too fast and stated she still didn't think that Mac had the same deep conviction of their relationship as Harm had. Meanwhile Mac had unnoticed by Harm come back to the apartment.

"Mom, Mac and I are together and we are going to continue being together," Harm said when Trish had asked them if Mac had said that she loved him.

The door slammed when Mac left the apartment. That was when Harm first noticed that she had been there.

"Mom, I have to go. I wish you'd accept her and accept us, because in this case what you say isn't going to change what I do," Harm hung up the phone and rushed after Mac.

She hadn't locked the door to her apartment knowing that Harm was going to come after her and he had a key anyway. She had gotten some leftovers out from the fridge and had started to heat them.

"I thought we were going to eat at my place tonight," Harm protested.

"Why did you tell her about us?" Mac asked. She had calmed down now, but she was still angry with him "You don't want to tell Mattie who lives with us, but you go and tell your mother without even telling me first."

"I didn't tell her," Harm continued to protest.

"Harm, I heard you."

"She already knew." 

"So you told her long before this," Mac was becoming more aggravated thinking that he was just evading telling her the truth. Harm was also getting more angry with her for continuing to interrupt him and not letting him finish explaining.

"No, she saw us when she was here in May."

"You still should have told me."

"Well, this has no point when you're like this," he turned on his heels and walked out of the apartment. This time he was the one who slammed the door.

Mac continued to move the still frozen lump of spaghettis and sauce round and round in the pan, until she took the whole thing off the stove and put it in the dumpster. She really wasn't hungry. Instead she wanted to throw herself at the work she had brought home. Since her briefcase was still in Harm's apartment, and she wasn't going to go and get it, she had to work only with what she still had in her head about the case.

Eventually she was so exhausted that she decided to go to bed. Though she was exhausted she couldn't fall asleep, she just kept on moving from side to side in her big bed.

At the same time in Harm's apartment he had started making the dinner he had planned on doing. He was determined not to let her ruin that for him. He thought there must have been something wrong with the recipe, because it didn't taste at all the way it was supposed to. Then he went to work on the case he had brought home to prepare for the next day. Since they had taken a few hours off from work to go to the bank, they had both needed to take some things home from work. When he saw Mac's briefcase still in his apartment he considered going over with it, but then decided that if she wanted it, she needed to come and get it.

Exhausted he went to bed and fell into a sleep that didn't give him much rest at all. He kept turning around not feeling comfortable alone in the bed and with how they had left things between them.

At last Mac gave up sleeping in her bed and got up, putting on her bathrobe and took her keys to lock her apartment behind her before she opened the door to Harm's.

It was dark in the apartment, but because of the light the streetlights were throwing into the apartment and because she knew the apartment so well, she was able to walk quietly over the bed and sit down on her side.

"Harm," she whispered and touched his cheek. He was just barely asleep "Harm, can I stay here tonight?" she asked. She could see his eyes flutter open and focus on her face. He not so much saw as felt who she was.

"Mac, please. I'm so sorry. I don't want to fight with you," he raised himself up and pushed the cover away inviting her into the bed. Soon she was spooned together with him.

"I'm sorry, Harm, for not letting you explain. Will you please explain it to me now? I don't want to fight with you and especially not about your mother. You can tell her whatever you want. I'd just like to know..." Mac whispered to him. She was back in the place where she belonged.

"She saw us kissing in the parking lot when she was here in May and she talked to me about it afterwards so I had to tell her what was going on with us," Harm slowly told her.

Mac nodded and Harm could feel her head moving. He blew warm air into her head. "There's more," Mac stated.

"The reason I didn't tell you was that... My mother doesn't know you and she didn't think that you were serious about us."

Mac swallowed "She still doesn't think that, does she?"

"No, I guess not, but it doesn't matter, because I know you are and I don't care what she says about us or you. That's what I told her."

"You think she understood?"

"I don't know," Harm said and held on to her tighter "I kind of hung up and ran after you."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Promise we'll never do that again. We'll never leave each other angry like that."

"I promise. And soon we won't be able to either." 

"I look forward to that," Mac said she was feeling sleep creeping through her whole body. She wouldn't be able to stay awake for much longer. "Do you think things we'll be OK with your mother? Is there anything I can do? I don't want you to fight with her because of me."

"Mac, you're perfect just the way you are. I know my mother would think that too, if she only gave you a chance. I'll call her tomorrow and try to talk to her. You don't have to worry about us fighting, things have always been this way with us. We feel differently about something, we try to convince the other we're right and then we agree to disagree. It's nothing to lie awake wondering or worrying about. It's been like this for as long as I can remember."

"Does that mean we're going to sleep now?" Mac said slowly.

"Yeah," Harm nodded, but Mac had already fallen asleep and didn't hear his answer. He wasn't slow to follow.

**TBC**


	19. 19

**Part 19 **

"So this is it," Mrs. Smith said "Here are the keys to the house. You have full access to the house from now on and can move in this afternoon if you want to."

Mac and Harm reached out to the keys and took them together. They had just signed the contract and now the house was really theirs.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you," the real estate agent said and though Harm and Mac hadn't really heard what she said, they were in such an aw that this had finally happened, they got up from their chairs and shook hands with Mrs. Smith and then left the building.

"So what do we do now?" Harm asked once they were sitting in the car.

"How about we go by the Chinese restaurant and pick up some take out and then we make a picnic in our house?" Mac said and thought about how the words our and house fitted so well together.

"Why don't we go by the apartments on the way and get a mattress and some other things and we can spend the night in our house as well?" Harm really liked those two words too.

"Sounds even better," Mac agreed.

An hour later they were sitting on their 'bed' eating noodles with vegetables and in Mac's case beef. They didn't talk so much. There was really no need. On the way over Harm had called Sturgis and asked him if he wanted to help them move some of the things over from the apartments to the house tomorrow. They had decided to really move into the house as soon as possible.

Their first call had been to the owner of the building with the apartments and cancelled Mac's flat. Since their was two months period of notice, there wasn't a real hurry to get the things out of the apartment so they could start by moving the most important things and then continue to take little by little. The owner, who wasn't the same as the one who had sold the apartment to Harm in the first place, had also wanted to buy Harm's apartment so they wouldn't have to spend any time trying to get rid of it. With the money he would get from the apartment they would be able to pay off a big part of their loan from the bank right away.

They had put the mattress in their new bedroom. Just sitting on it they already knew that getting the bed there tomorrow was the highest priority. It was a good thing tomorrow was a Saturday and that they didn't have any really demanding cases on their tables, so they could spend the whole next day and the day after trying to get as much as possible in order.

Any thoughts of them learning to do more new-couple-things in the time that Mattie was away were gone. Between moving out of the apartments, moving into the house and working, there wouldn't be much time for other things. Both of them realized that they weren't really sad about that. The joy over the fact that they were making a lasting home for their family of three was much bigger. They didn't even consider the fact that they had only really been seeing each other for three weeks and had already bought a house together. They had been preparing for this relationship for so many years that nothing could feel like moving too fast.

The next day they went out and rented a small truck that would take the furniture. First they loaded the three beds and while Sturgis and Harm left to take them to the house Mac stayed behind and packed down her clothes and the things from the apartment that she absolutely needed. She had just started to take off the legs of the table in her and in Harm's kitchen so it would be easier to transport, when Harm and Sturgis returned. They had just left the things inside the door and gone back for the next run. Quickly they were realizing that packing the things into boxes before you started driving them over was a really good plan, but it was too late to do anything about it now anyway.

Six o'clock, after having just a short break for lunch they had actually moved more then what they had thought they would from the apartments. There was still some of the kitchen stuff that needed to be completely wrapped, but wouldn't take up too much space transporting, and lots of their books and some other things they didn't need right away left to get over to the house. And of course those of Mac's things that were still in storage. They had just brought the most essential things and were going to do the rest some night when they had gotten a little in order in the house.

They were finally all at the house at once and were working on getting the beds upstairs. After a while they could land Harm's in their bedroom, but first of all they needed to take out the small mattress, that they had stayed on last night.

"So which one of you stayed here last night?" Sturgis asked when he caught sight of the mattress.

"Both," Mac answered without thinking.

"Oh really," Sturgis noted with raised eyebrows.

"Eh yeah,,, I had an inflatable in my bedroom. I had to bring it back to my friend."

"Oh OK," Sturgis said, but it was rather obvious that he didn't believe her, but wasn't going to comment on it.

When both of the beds were upstairs there was a knock on the door.

Mac quite excitedly went to open up curious to see if it might be any of their new neighbors. She broke out in a smile when she saw Varese standing on the other side of the door loaded with pizza-cartons.

"I thought you might be hungry, so I went directly from the airport to the pizza place and then over here. Sturgis called me and said he was here helping you move into the house."

"Oh, that's so nice of you. We were just starting to wonder what we were going to do about dinner."

"Then I got here just in time."

The voice of Varese had gotten Harm and Sturgis out of the kitchen where they had been trying to get the kitchen table together again. Sturgis didn't try to hide how happy he was to see Varese. She had promptly dumped the pizzas on Mac and the couple had greeted each other.

Harm and Mac tried not to look too much and just started walking out to the kitchen, to try to find some knives and possibly forks and plates to use for the pizzas. They realized that their stomachs weren't going to wait until they had gotten the table together and decided that they'd have the pizzas out in the backyard and hoped Sturgis and Varese would like that idea as well. Mac went to get something out for them to sit on and soon they were all four of them gathered on a blanket on the green grass behind Harm and Mac's house.

After the pizzas they continued to work getting the furniture that they had needed to take apart back together. The next day and the next weekend Harm and Mac spent as much time as they possibly could packing the rest of the things in their old apartments into boxes and get them over to the house. Unfortunately work was getting rather busy for them and they needed to use a lot of their free time preparing for cases instead of getting their house together.

**TBC**


	20. 20

**AN: **You know that you are stressed when you barely have time to post a part of an already finished story... Thanks to everyone who sent feedback. It was very much appreciated.

DC resident, I've never been to Washington and know very little about what kind of neighborhood where is, but I'd like to change it from SE if you'd give me a suggestion on a more suitable one.

**Part 20 **

"Colonel, I'm glad you found the time to drop by," Admiral Chegwidden said when Mac entered "Coates, close the hatch. At ease," he said turning back to Mac.

"I'm sorry sir. I was in court when you asked for me."

"It's alright. Please sit down," he said a bit more friendly.

Mac sat down and waited for him to tell her what this was all about. She was very rarely called into his office in the middle of the day without a clue of what it was about.

"Do you like it here at JAG?" he asked her.

"Of course."

"You've been here for quite a while now."

"I guess you could say that, but I still think it's very challenging." 

"I'm sure you do and I would have liked to keep you here, but I've gotten a request to have you transferred to another command."

"Oh... where?" Mac asked carefully not quite sure that this was going to be any happy news.

"It's the position as carrier-JAG on the Patrick Henry, but also with responsibility of over seeing the other JAGs in the battle group," the admiral made a pause and watched Mac's reaction "You don't seem happy, it's a great position and a step in the right direction for your long term career."

Mac nodded "Yes, sir."

"Admiral Border have requested you specifically, but my word has some weight too. So if you tell me not to recommend you... However you should know if I don't recommend you, it will have to be Commander Rabb."

"No, I want it," Mac was quick to say. She really wanted to stay with Harm and Mattie, but she wanted them to be together more. At this point no matter how things seemed in their hearts Harm was Mattie's only legal guardian.

"OK. Then I'll send the papers off today and I'll tell you as soon as the final decision is in. It won't be long, possibly even today."

"Yes, sir."

"You're dismissed," the admiral told her and she walked out of the office.

"Mac, what's wrong? You've been so quiet ever since we left the office," Harm asked her as they were driving home from work the same day. They had missed each other the whole day so this was the first Harm saw of Mac since her meeting with the admiral.

"We need to talk, but at home, OK?" Mac said. She didn't want to tell him while they were in the car and couldn't really look at each other.

"OK, but I do want to know what's bothering you when we're home."

"I'll tell you."

They had hardly walked inside the door, before Harm asked her again what was wrong.

"I'm getting a transfer," she paused and Harm put his arms up and his hands were touching her neck as his thumbs were stroking across her face. "To the Patrick Henry," she continued.

"Oh, I'm..." Harm was feeling all these emotions going trough his head and then he gathered his thoughts and started "I heard about that position, but I didn't think anyone from our office was going to get it. It will be great for you though."

"I'm not so sure it will be all that great. For my career sure, but not for all that which really counts, my life with you and Mattie."

"I'm glad you think that we matter so much, but we'll be fine and we'll still be here when you get back. We'll both miss you like crazy, but we'll get by."

"So you're not upset with me over this."

"No, why would I be that? Orders are orders and... and I'm really proud of you for getting the position. Is it 100 % sure that you're going."

"Yes, the admiral told me right before I left. We sail on the 3rd of August."

Harm pulled her in for a proper hug. They were still standing right inside of the hallway and in the living room. There were boxes and things everywhere. Neither one had lived in a more chaotic place of their own before. It had gotten to the point where they were almost uncomfortable around their own house. The only room they really liked at the moment was the bedroom, and they didn't use it just for sleep.

"Mattie isn't going to take this as well as you did," Mac was thinking back on how Mattie had felt about the previous shorter trips they had been forced to do for investigations and court martials. This would seem even worse to her."

"I'm afraid you're right, but we'll make her understand some way. You're not alone in this."

"No, we're together. I'm so glad that I have you, Harm. I don't want to leave, but..."

"I know, I know. Do you think we should call her now?"

"There is no point in waiting. I just want to get it over with."

They went out to the kitchen where the telephone was and Mac dialed the number and Harm held her hand as she waited for someone to pick up on the other line.

"Hello Mr. Burnett," she said "This is Sarah Mackenzie. Do you have Mattie there?" It was rare that Harm's stepfather Frank answered the phone, but she had talked once or twice before. This time though there was no small talk, she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

Frank went to get Mattie who had the afternoon off and was lying outside sunbathing.

"Hey Mattie. How are things?" Mac asked.

(("Good. We've been really busy at the café this week so it's been nice to have some free time. Oh and yesterday one of the artists showed me around the gallery and talked about his paintings. It was really interesting."))

"I bet," Mac breathed in deeply "Mattie, there's something I need to tell you."

(("Yeah, what?" Mattie asked not being able to guess what this was.))

"Mattie, right after you come back to DC I have to go away for at least six months. To a carrier. They need a JAG there to..." Mac stopped when she heard the click of Mattie hanging up. "She hung up," she told Harm.

"I'll talk to Mom or Frank and have them talk to her," Harm tried to comfort her. He saw a little tear making it's way down her cheek.

"I just feel like I'm the last in a row of adults that have walked out of her life and I really don't want to be that." 

"Mac, you're not walking out of her life. I don't believe that just because you're on the other side of the world you won't be interested in and care about Mattie. She was just shocked. We'll talk to her and give her some time to really understand what this means and what it doesn't mean."

The same evening Harm called back to his parents, but Trish had already been able to get the news out of Mattie. The next they Mattie called Mac back and apologized for hanging up on her like that. She still wasn't happy about it, but she was also able to see that any anger that she was feeling towards Mac because of it came mostly out of fear both of what could happen to Mac going so close to a war zone and of what would become of their family if they were split up like that. Though Mac and Harm tried to assure her that they were going to be together again once Mac was home again, she still didn't feel quite certain.

For the following two weeks things at JAG HQ stayed busy and it didn't get any better because Mac had to start preparing for her deployment and try to find out more about the people she was going to supervise. Harm and Mac didn't really get any further on the whole making-house-into-home-project and Mac was getting more and more stressed about the possibility of having to leave the house like that for Mattie to come home to and for her to then leave it like that. Mattie was going to come home just two days before she was reporting to the Patrick Henry and they were sailing off from Norfolk. That day was getting closer and closer.

**TBC**


	21. 21

**Part 21 **

"I'm so glad that you came," Harriet said when she opened the door to let Harm and Mac in.

"You've got Harm to thank for that. He's the one who convinced me," Mac said. She knew that it was going to be great with an evening together with their best friends like that, but the piles of things to do at home were still firmly stuck in her head.

"I think we all need to have at least an evening off considering how much we've worked lately," Harm said.

"I definitely agree that's why I thought of this dinner."

"I'm sure it will be great," Mac said "I just don't know if I'll be able to relax enough to enjoy it."

"Getting everything in order before you leave is important to you, isn't it?" Harriet said and looked thoughtfully at Mac.

"Yeah. I don't want to leave everything for Harm and Mattie to sort out, you know."

"Well, let's try to forget about that for a few hours. Sturgis and Varese are already here. We're having drinks out in the back yard. It's such a nice weather, we thought we'd eat outside."

"That sounds great," Harm agreed.

Back outside they were heartedly greeted by the people they had left at the office just a few hours ago. Varese had just gotten back from a small tour on the west coast and Mac and she were catching up. Bud forbid all talk about work, but that was still what was running through Mac's head, though she pretended to be concentrating on other things. She was so stressed she couldn't think about anything else. Varese noticed that she wasn't focusing on their conversation, but realized what the reason was and didn't comment on it.

Harm wanted Mac to get to see what the house would really look like when it was ready before she left too, but he didn't see the point of working yourself sick because of that. He couldn't take that away from Mac and he knew that Mac was trying to take it easier as well, but not succeeding very well.

All of a sudden Little AJ came out of the house. He had been upstairs in his room on a time-out and had finally been let out by his mother.

"Hello Harm and Mac."

"Hello AJ. How are you?" Mac asked him.

"Mom made me stay in my room."

"And why was that?"

"I pushed Jimmy sort of."

"Well, that wasn't very nice." Harm commented.

"He pushed me first," AJ protested.

"But still, he's smaller then you so you can't push back or you might hurt him."

"That's what mom said too."

"Maybe she was right," Harm tried to convince him.

Harriet had been watching from a distance, but now she saw Jimmy, whom she had been trying to keep apart from AJ because they had a habit of provoking each other into fighting and screaming as soon as they were within touching distance, toddle over to where AJ was standing. Sometimes having children who were early in learning things were definitely not an advantage. Before Jimmy had started reaching out for the small football AJ was holding in his hand, she pulled him back and lifted him up to rest on her hip.

"AJ, go and say hello to Sturgis and Varese too, please," she told her oldest son and joined Harm and Mac. "Doesn't this make you long to have more then one child?" she said jokingly.

"I think one is definitely enough for us at the moment," Mac said and Harm nodded in agreement.

"I can't wait to get her home though," Harm said.

"It's just another week, isn't it?" Harriet commented.

"Yep, just another week."

The dinner passed quickly in the nice company. Harm and Mac excused themselves early stating that they needed to go home, because they had to go up and work so early the next day. The truth was that a bigger motivation had been the toe-flirting that had been going on between the two of them during the whole dinner.

"You know," Harm said when they were lying in bed after their latest, but probably not last session of the night. "Seeing Little AJ got me thinking about something. Remember that deal we made a little more then five years ago?"

"Mm hm, I guess it turns out we did go through with it."

"You mean Mattie."

"Do we have any other children together that I don't know about?" Mac smiled and moved a little closer to him again. Her hand was on his cheek.

"No, but Mattie is a rather large baby, don't you think?"

Mac just looked at him and nodded.

"So maybe we don't have to completely remove that idea of having a baby together from our heads?"

"You want to have a baby with me?" Mac asked him looking straight into his eyes.

"Yes, I do. But only if you do too of course."

"I do. Of course I do... Why don't we revisit this conversation when I come back from the Patrick-Henry?"

"Sounds great," Harm whispered. "But do you know what I want to do now?"

"I can't guess..." Mac said and cried out with laughter when she was quickly turned over to lie on her back.

* * *

Mac was sitting on the living room floor doing the same thing she had done last night and would continue to do all of today and most of tomorrow; she was sorting out all of the boxes that were still piled up in the living room. There were books, papers and little things that were really of no use. Tomorrow night Mattie was going to walk into the house and she wanted to get the worst of it done before then. Harm was in the kitchen unpacking the rest of the things that belonged there. They had had so little time to cook and eat that they hadn't really needed anything more then the absolute necessities.

There was a knock on the door and Mac sighed. Now she was going to get even less done. Not that they would be able to do everything anyway.

Mac opened the door and the sight was a total surprise to her. Outside were all their friends from JAG with tool boxes and mops in their hands.

"Harm, we have visitors," she shouted towards the kitchen, not sure what to say to the people that were standing in front of her.

"Hello Mac. We thought you might need some help and besides we really want to have a house warming party and it seemed like this was the only way to get one," Harriet waved towards the rest of the people that were here.

"We do need some help," Mac backed into the living room and almost hit a box so it fell over. The room was now being filled with people; Harriet, Bud and their boys were there. Meredith, the admiral, Sturgis, Varese, Coates, Tiner and some other people that also worked at JAG were crowding the hallway, kitchen and living room.

"You just need to tell us what to do and we'll do it," the admiral said and looked around making sure that all of his subordinates were agreeing on this. They were of course here voluntarily, but the fact that Harriet had convinced Admiral Chegwidden to come had made a lot of the other people more easily convinced.

"OK, well," Mac looked around the living room. There was hardly even room for all of them and the boxes as it was. She didn't know where to start and neither did Harm.

"Then... first of all someone take the boys outside," the admiral nodded towards Little AJ and Jimmy. Little AJ had started going around and picking things up from the box with Mac's vases and setting them on the floor. Harriet rushed forward and promptly lifted him away from the box.

"I'll get them outside. If you have anything I can do out there. Just say so."

"Well, I cut the grass yesterday, but there's a lot of weeds there in the flowerbed," Harm started carefully feeling extremely awkward asking for help with these things. Harm and Mac loved the flowerbed with the red and white roses that surrounded the whole back yard, but they had neglected them in the past weeks when they had lived there "I mean only if you want to..."

"I'll do it, sir. That's why I'm here," Harriet interrupted him and took the children outside to the back of the house.

The rest of the work of putting the bookshelves together and filling them up with the books, cleaning out the cupboards of the kitchen and putting cleaned plates in them and repainting what was going to become Harm and Mac's office in a much less nauseating color, was divided up between the remaining people. Harm and Mac watched how all of their remaining work with the house was slowly, but steadily disappearing by the hands of their friends. They were of course not just watching their friends work, they were working harder than anyone else there, but everything went much easier now when there was actually some hope that they were going to be able to get everything done. The nice company made the whole day seem more like a social event then a workday.

For lunch they ordered in some different kinds of take-outs and once they were ready for dinner the rest of the gang all went home just to come back tomorrow again. By six o'clock on Sunday when Mac and Harm had to go to the airport absolutely everything in the whole house that could possibly need any cleaning up, putting together or unpacking had been done. It looked wonderful and all of them had had a lot of fun working together like this. Harm and Mac were so grateful to their friends for all of the help they had gotten. There was no way that just the two of them would have been able to get everything done even if they had worked day and night.

Harm and Mac left for the airport and the rest of the gang stayed at the house starting the barbecue and making some salad and other side dishes.

Harm and Mac were at the airport anxiously looking for Mattie. It felt like it was just yesterday that she had left, but also like she had been gone forever. So many things had changed during her time away. They were now living together in a house and the two of them were much more comfortable with their relationship. They knew that the plane had landed and any minute now Mattie should show up. Harm reached for Mac's hand and they held on to each other as they watched the opening where Mattie was going to show up. And then Harm got a glimpse of her curly hair.

"Mattie," he shouted and waved his hand.

"Where? Where?" Mac asked and Harm pointed her in the direction. He needed to shout a few more times and then all of a sudden Mattie was in their arms.

"Oh honey, we've missed you so, so much. Are you OK?"

Mattie took a step back and just laughed and nodded. She was smiling the whole time and just seemed like a completely different and much lighter person. Mac and Harm looked at her trying to get every single part of her into their head.

"I can't believe you're home," Harm said and brought her and Mac back into his embrace. "You can never ever leave again."

"And neither can you," Mattie said towards Mac "Do you really have to go there?"

"I do Mattie. I know it might be hard to understand, but that's what it's like to be in the Marine Corps, or in the Navy, you serve where they want you to serve not always where you want to be."

"But I don't want to understand that... I... I just want us to be together. I think you belong here with us."

"I think I belong here too."

"Have you got all of your things?" Harm looked down on the floor and saw a whole bunch of bags. Many more then she had had when she left Washington.

"Eh, I went shopping with Trish a couple of times and..." Mattie tried to explain and Mac and Harm tried their best to hide their laughs. They both got some of the things and together they walked to the car.

On the drive home to the new house they told her about the by now ongoing party there. Mattie was tired from the trip, but since it was still early afternoon to her she was still able to get very excited about the house and the party.

"Did you get along well with my mother and Frank?" Harm asked her.

"Yeah. Frank hasn't been at home so much. At times it can get to be a little too much with you mother though, no offence."

"None taken."

"I mean, she's really nice and I know she cares about me, but she can be a bit too pushy sometimes and it's sort of unpleasant when she talks about Mac..." Mattie stopped talking abruptly realizing she had said too much.

"Why is that then?" Mac decided to ask.

"Well, she," Mattie didn't really want to tell Mac what Trish said about her, but she also didn't want to keep anything from Mac "She..." Mattie said again.

"I know she doesn't really like me. It's OK. I can live with that and I think she can too..." Mac said realizing that she didn't want to put Mattie in that position.

"I just don't understand why," Mattie said not denying that Trish didn't like Mac.

"Well... I think, right now it's nothing either I or we can do anything about at all."

They drove up to the house and Mattie stopped and just looked at it.

"So this is our home,"

"This is our home," Harm said.

"Yeah, isn't that wonderful?" Mac said and was given nods of agreements from Harm and Mattie.

They could hear the rest of the group on the backside, but none of them had discovered them yet.

"Let's go inside," Mac suggested. They went inside and walked through the living room and kitchen and then entered Mattie's room. Except for putting all of her furniture together and in order they hadn't really done anything with her room. If Mattie wanted to repaint the walls, she could and Harm would help her, but they wanted her to pick a color herself. She also went upstairs and looked at Harm and Mac's room(s) and the office. She really liked what she was seeing.

"I don't understand at all what you've been talking about, Mac. You said the house was in chaos, but everything looks just fine."

"We have our friends to thank for that. They've helped us getting everything in order over the weekend."

The little family went outside and was discovered by the others. They had already started eating and offered them hamburgers and drinks.

They were all standing in small groups. Everyone was laughing, except for Little AJ whose father wouldn't let him drink beer like the big men, and the JAG-gang seemed to have mended some of the differences that had torn them apart a year ago. The atmosphere was warm and lovely.

"It's nice to have her back, isn't it?" Harriet came up to Mac who had just returned from the kitchen bringing out some more water. Harriet was standing by the table where they had put all of the glasses, plates, knives and forks.

"Yeah, it's just so sad that I'm leaving so soon. I'm not sure I'll be able to stand being so far away from them," Mac breathed in and out again also attempting a smile "Do you want some water?" Mac asked her.

"You and Harm has gotten close throughout this too, haven't you?" Harriet held out her glass and Mac poured some water into it.

"Yeah," Mac answered. "We've known each other for so long that we know exactly which buttons to push, lately we've simply stopped doing that."

"You know they'll be fine. They'll take care of each other and whenever Harm needs to go away, Mattie can come and stay with us."

"Thank you, Harriet, for everything. I'm not sure if you understand how much I appreciate everything you all have done for us this weekend. It means a lot to me not having to leave the house looking like a dumpster for Harm and Mattie to sort out alone. And thank you for being my friend all these years."

"I'm just glad we could help. Being your friend is a pleasure."

Mac embraced Harriet and they held on to each other for a long time fighting the tears that were slowly making an appearance in the corners of their eyes. Harm and Mattie weren't going to be the only people she'd miss during her deployment.

* * *

A few hours later all of the guests had left and it was just Harm, Mac and Mattie left in the house.

"Now the house is just like it was supposed to," Harm said looking around the kitchen and finally letting his eyes rest on Mattie and Mac who were drying up the last of the dishes. He smiled.

"Yeah, but it won't be for long," Mattie said.

"Mattie, are you going to be OK with me leaving? I mean do you understand that I'm not going because I want to, but because it's my duty to go?" Mac asked her.

"Yeah, Mac," Mattie made a small pause "Eventually I will be totally fine with it. I really don't want you to go, I still don't, but I'm not so scared of it anymore. When you first told me about it, I was terrified that everything was going to change because of it. Now I feel like it's going to be tough for those months, but then you're going to come back to live with us and everything will be just like it's supposed to be."

"Yes, I am coming back to you." Mac snuck up to Mattie and embraced her from behind "Are you ready to go to bed now?"

"Oh yeah."

"Me too."

Mattie went to spend the first night in her new room and Harm and Mac went upside to theirs.

**TBC**


	22. 22

**Part 22 **

"Harm, there's something I need to talk to you about," Mac said when she came home the evening before the Patrick Henry was sailing off from Norfolk. Harm was just ready to get out the door.

"I can't now. I have to pick Mattie up and I'm already late," he brushed past her.

"But Harm, we have to talk before..." Harm had missed that she had started to talk and she stopped talking when she heard the door being shut behind him.

Tonight they were going to tell Mattie about them. They had meant to do it as soon as Mattie had returned, but so far they hadn't found a good opportunity where they were all three together and not in a hurry. But now there was something Mac needed to talk to just Harm about before they could tell Mattie.

Mac went upstairs and changed out of her uniform. She had been the whole day in Norfolk preparing for the departure the next day which had included a meeting with her new CO. After she had changed into some comfortable yet nice-looking blouse and skirt, she went down to the kitchen to start the dinner. Being around Harm so much in the kitchen had taught her quite a lot more about cooking.

Half an hour Harm and Mattie walked into the house and they got busy trying to help with the food as well. Soon they could sit down and share the going away dinner together. Mac was hoping that Mattie would 'disappear' for a while so that she'd have a chance to say a few quick words to Harm before they sat down to eat, but Mattie stayed in the kitchen the whole time so she had no such luck.

It was hard not to feel sad and the atmosphere that was usually so light and happy around the dinner table, now had a big dark cloud hanging over it. Most uncomfortable with it all was Mac. When they had finished both the dinner and the dessert, Harm took Mac's hand under the table as a sign that he thought they should start telling Mattie. Instead of squeezing it affirmably, Mac tried to get his attention and shaking her head.

"Mattie, there's something that we want you to know before Mac leaves..." Harm said and was interrupted by Mac.

"We want you to know that we really always just want what's best for you and there's nothing that's ever going to change that," she said with the outmost conviction.

Harm looked confused at Mac wondering why she hadn't told her what they had agreed on. Mac shook her head to show him that they weren't going to discuss what they had planned on. Harm decided to not make anything more out of it now and wait until later when they'd be alone in their room to sort it out.

During their exchange Mattie sat and looked at them trying to understand what they were 'talking' about. It wasn't the first conversation they had had like that without any words spoken out, so she wasn't that alarmed just a bit confused.

"So do you want a last game of Trivial Pursuit before you leave?" Mattie asked Mac.

"Yes," Mac said.

"Why don't you get the game out and I'll help Harm with the dishes?" Mattie suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Harm got up and started piling the dishes together. Mac went out to the living room. She needed to look for a while before she found the game. That was one of the disadvantages of having other people sort through and organize your things.

After the game, they all got up from the living room couches and armchairs to say goodnight and Mattie went to the bathroom downstairs to get ready for bed whereas Mac and Harm went upstairs. They didn't bother about the bathroom and instead went directly into their bedroom and closed the door behind them.

"Why did you change your mind about telling her?" Harm asked Mac as soon as they had closed the door. They had to be careful not to talk too loudly. Not that Mattie would hear what they were saying, but maybe she'd hear that they were talking and wonder about that.

"I didn't, I just had something I needed to tell you first, but you didn't give me any chance," Mac said. It was all so complicated now. She looked really frightened for a moment and Harm, instead of trying to get a better answer out of her, brought her into his arms and rocked her slowly back and forth.

"My darling, everything's going to be all right when you're gone. It won't be as good as when you're here, but we'll survive."

"All right," Harm said and Mac nodded. "Everything's going to be all right."

Mac put her hands in his. She took a deep breath gathering her energy and thoughts. The thing was she had such weird mixed feelings, both of fear and absolute happiness. "Harm, I'm not leaving on the Patrick-Henry tomorrow."

"What do you mean 'you're not leaving'? Of course you're leaving. It's going to be great for you... and for your career and you definitely deserve that position. You haven't refused to go, have you?" Harm asked her. The words stumbling on each other.

"Not exactly," Mac said feeling the conversation going far away from what she wanted to tell him. She regretted not having planned out what she was going to say better. This was apparently not the best approach.

"But how could they take that position away from you this late? They don't know what they're missing out on. Is it completely sure that you're not going?"

"Harm, do you want me to go away?" Mac asked him almost starting to laugh at the energy he was putting into convincing her that going was the absolute best thing that could happen. She knew he didn't want her to go away, she was definitely sure about that, but his concern for her career, which seemed to be much greater then her own concern was, was really sweet.

"No..." Harm started saying a bit worried that she had misunderstood him, but Mac interrupted him.

"Harm, I'm not going to go on board on the Patrick-Henry, because I wouldn't be able to stay the whole deployment," Mac squeezed his hands tighter "I'm pregnant," she made a quick pause, took a deep breath and then at a much higher speed she continued "Remember I had a physical last week as a preparation for the deployment and they gave me the answer today. Admiral Border doesn't want me at all when I can't stay the whole deployment and Kate Pike has been looking for a transfer out of Pearl Harbor and now she's taking the position on the Patrick-Henry instead," Mac would have continued to ramble if it hadn't been for a whisper coming out of Harm's mouth.

"We're having a baby."

Mac nodded and smiled when she saw the big smile that was playing across Harm's face. "We're having a baby together," she confirmed.

Harm threw his arms out and crushed her to his body. "Oh my god," he said. She didn't think she had ever been held like that before. She was sure that he would never let her go, but then all of a sudden he stepped back just holding his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry. Are you OK? I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't, Harm. You never could," she stepped closer to him and put her hand to his face leaned up to him and kissed him gently "I hoped you'd be as glad as I am about this, but I didn't want to assume anything. I know we didn't plan this to happen so early and the timing might not be the best, but I just can't help to think it's great."

"I think it's great too, regardless of all of the other things and circumstances," Harm said, his arms was resting around her body. "So do you know when this happened?"

"I'm guessing it was that first night in the house. Remember, the condom broke..."

"Yeah, but I thought you said it was during your safe period."

"I know I thought so too, but on the other hand in school I was thought that there are no safe periods so..."

"You know what, Mac," Harm said and looked mischievously at her "I'm really glad there aren't."

He hugged her and they both leaned in for another kiss, which led them to end up lying half-naked on the bed.

"Mac, I don't think you'll ever know how much I love you," Harm put a finger under her chin so he could look right into Mac's eyes.

"I love you too, Harm."

**TBC**


	23. 23

**Part 23 **

Mattie was moving around in the kitchen. The pancakes were done and the coffee was almost done as well. She had gotten everything out of the refrigerator that could possibly be eaten as breakfast. She was surprised that she hadn't seen anything of Harm or Mac yet. Harm and she were going to drive Mac to Norfolk and they needed to leave in time. She went upstairs to see if Mac was up. When she didn't get any response, she slowly opened the door, just to find the bed made and the room in perfect order. It looked like no one was really living there. Mattie turned around and walked hastily over to Harm's door.

"Harm, she already left," Mattie cried out and that was the only warning Harm and Mac got before she stormed into the room.

They both sat up, the cover was covering up all of them except for the heads, but it didn't change anything about the fact that they had been found in a rather compromising situation sleeping naked in a bed together like that.

Just as fast as she'd come into the room, Mattie rushed out without saying a word. Harm and Mac got up from the bed and rushed to get some clothes on and then follow her downstairs.

They found the door to her room closed. Harm knocked and said "Mattie, can we come in? We need to talk to you about this."

"No! You've ruined everything! Everything!" Mattie cried out.

"What do you mean we've ruined everything?" Harm asked her trying to get a grip on how she was experiencing the situation.

"I don't understand why you would risk all that we have, because of... because of something like that. If you had those needs couldn't you go out and find someone else to take care of them with. But not with Mac. Don't you see that she's never going to come back to us now?" Mattie was angry and upset with Harm. Her voice was high pitched, but they had no problems hearing what she was saying through the door.

"Mattie, can we come in?" Mac asked her. "We're not going to be able to solve anything like this. With us out here."

They could hear her breathe, or rather grasping for air, and Harm slowly opened the door and walked into the room. Mattie was sitting on the floor leaning her back against her bed. Every breath she was trying to force down her lungs was causing her to shake and at the same time tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry," Mac rushed over and sat down beside Mattie hugging her close to her, trying to breathe with her.

"It's... not... your... fault..." Mattie got out "How... could... you?" she asked looking up at Harm "Now... she's... not... going... to... come... back... You... used... her," Mattie was just getting more and more panicked.

"No, Mattie I'm always going to come back to you, to both of you. Always, always, always. You need to calm down a bit so we can talk about this. Take a deep breath, Mattie," she said and did so as well "And breathe out." She released all of the air that was in her lungs and Mattie tried her best to follow her, but she was still just able to get a small amount of air into the top of her lungs. They continued doing the same thing for 15 minutes. Harm kneeled down beside them and tried to put his arms around both of them as well, but when he felt Mattie only getting worse, then he backed off a little, just holding his arm around Mac trying to comfort her. By now tears were falling down both Harm and Mac's cheeks as well.

"Mattie, you've gotten the wrong impression of our relationship," Mac said when it seemed to get a little easier for Mattie.

"Don't tell me you were just sleeping..."

"No, we're not going to tell you that," Mac told her "But we are going to tell you that this wasn't a one night stand. Mattie-honey, Harm and I," she took Harm's hand and he braided his fingers with hers "are in a relationship."

"We're in a serious relationship and we have been for quite a while now," Harm said.

"Ever since I broke up with Webb to be more exact."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? You've been lying to me for the past two months. The two people I trust the most..." Mattie didn't sound angry, just sad and disappointed.

"Mattie, we didn't mean to hurt you by hiding this from you. We just... We needed some time to get this thing with us properly together, before we could tell anyone about it. We needed to practice being a couple. But we want to tell people about it now," Mac took Mattie's hand squeezed it carefully "You were going to be the first to know. We were going to tell you yesterday, but... We wanted you to know before I left."

"Right. You're leaving," Mattie looked at her watch. "Mac, we're going to be late. You're going to miss the depart."

"No, I'm not," Mac said slowly and took a deep breath "Because I'm not going away on the Patrick-Henry."

Mattie didn't say anything, just looked at her confused.

"You see, we found something out yesterday, something that's going to change a lot of things around here. But it's not going to change all of us being a family," Harm said and stressed family. He had sat down on Mattie's other side. "Our family is going to get a new member. Mac's pregnant."

Mac nodded to confirm what Harm was saying and had her one hand protectively on her stomach. Mattie looked at Mac's stomach and then up at her face. Her expression was simply of shock so it was hard to say what she thought of the news.

"I know that it's a lot of new things for you right now. We're still rather shocked as well, I think. And it's going to take some time until we are properly adjusted to this new situation. But... can you see this happening? Can you see the four of us being a family together?" Harm looked at her attentively.

Mattie tock a deep breath "I don't know. I mean, I hope we will, but can you ever really be sure until it really is happening?"

"You can have faith and trust. That can go a long way."

"I'll try that. I'll try really hard. I know I have to."

"We're all going to have to work really hard to make this work, but I want you to know that this isn't going to change anything about how we feel about having you here. We're really glad to have you here and we never want you to leave again. Not until you're like fifty at least," Mac added.

They remained sitting on the floor of Mattie's room for a while, all of them thinking about different yet the same things. Finally there was a growling sound from Mac's stomach.

"It seems like the little man in there has inherited his mother's appetite," Harm commented and smiled.

"You better watch it or the little girl in here," Mac said. Her hand was still on her stomach. It was like she was afraid that if she let go of it, it would all go away. "and I will seriously kick your butt," Mac said and swatted him lightly on the arm.

Mattie couldn't help but smile at their exchange.

They moved out to the kitchen and started to reheat the pancakes and get everything back to order for breakfast.

"So are you two going to get married now?" Mattie asked them as she was just stuffing herself with her second pancake. She looked from Harm to Mac and back.

"Well," Mac said "we haven't talked about it..."

"Yet, but," he just looked at Mac and she looked back at him and smiled "I think we might actually do that."

"Was that your proposal? I'm starting to get the whole you needing to practice-thing and I'm telling you you're not done yet."

"Hey," Mac and Harm protested at the same time and it caused them all three to start laughing.

"But you're going to have a real wedding at least. I mean with bridesmaids and stuff..."

"Of course," Mac said.

"And will you let me be one of the bridesmaids?" Mattie asked carefully.

"Are you kidding? You'll be the maid of honor," Mac said without any doubt in her voice.

"Cool," Mattie smiled happily. "I promise to get better at knocking."

"Yeah, I think that might be a good idea," Harm agreed and smiled back at her.

**The End**

**AN: **So this was the last part of Neighbors. This story has truly been a wonderful summer-project for me. At times I wish that I would have had more time to write and post at times, but I guess that has kept the suspense up... Anyway I've had lots of fun sharing this story with all of you this summer. Thank you for that! Special thanks of course to everyone who wrote to me and encouraged me to continue writing. Extra special thanks to Cria and TZ who have helped me by beta-reading the story.

Oh, and an epilogue will follow soon...


	24. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

The smell of coffee was slowly penetrating his nose trills and he could hear someone entering the room. He couldn't feel the warmth of the other body that he normally woke up lying next to. Someone put something down on the nightstand beside the bed, he could tell just from the sound, but he didn't want to open his eyes. The other person in the room went over to the window and drew the curtains apart so the room was flooded with light.

"We're getting new neighbors," the voice that belonged to the other person, a woman, said. "We should go over and say hello later today."

The man just grunted in response.

"Did you have a lot of fun yesterday with the guys?" the woman sat down on the bed beside him stroking her hand across his face "You're paying for it now, aren't you?" he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yeah... I'm too old for this," the man said finally completely awake. He watched the beautiful woman pick up one of the cups she had put on his nightstand and take a sip of coffee "This is really all Sturgis fault. People shouldn't get married that old and especially, they shouldn't have a bachelor-party... so late and in a bar. I don't know what the best man was thinking," he continued.

"You are the best man," she protested and when he raised himself up to sitting position she gave him one of the cups of coffee and took a sip of her own.

"I think that might have been the problem..." he said. She had just put down her cup. One of her hands was resting on his thigh. "I love you, my darling."

"I love you too," she gave the response back just like they both had done a million times before to each other. He put his arms around her body and brought her to be sitting on the other side of him with her legs resting across his lap and her head leaning on his shoulder.

"Why is everything so quiet? Why don't we have a loudly screaming four-year-old running around in here? Jumping on the bed because she wants to go out and play."

"Well, Mattie came home from Boston last night after you'd left. Something about a boyfriend who wasn't the reliable type... I haven't gotten the whole story out of her yet."

"She sure knows how to pick them."

"I guess she does... but she'll figure it out eventually, just like her parents," she paused and put her whole hand to his chest for a second "Anyway she took her little sister to store to buy Frosties."

"Oh no, Alex is going to be on a sugar-rush all day. Remember last time."

"Yeah, I do, but Mattie already offered to baby-sit so apparently her memory is shorter. "They sat silent from time to time taking a sip of coffee and enjoying the calm and silence that rested across the whole house.

"Your mother called yesterday. She said she'd call you back."

"What did she want?"

"I don't think there was anything special, I think she just wanted to catch up. However she did say that you were too old to go out on Friday-nights and instead you should stay at home with your wife and child."

"Sometimes I think it was better before you started ganging up on me," he said mockingly.

She leaned forward to kiss him. "Sometimes you're really cute, you know that."

They deepened the kiss and he started to work on getting her out of the nightgown she was wearing. They froze when they heard the front door being slammed shut and small elephant-steps were heard climbing up the stair.

"Mom, Dad," the little voice said very excited. She opened the door to her parents bedroom and found them sitting together drinking coffee. She proudly showed them the box with cereals "Look what Mattie got me. I like Mattie." She ran up to them and climbed up on the bed and made herself some room between the two of them. She started working on getting the package open.

"Oh, please not in the bed," her father complained.

"You can have too," she said and took a fist of the sugary flakes and put them to his mouth.

"Put the cereals back in the box, Alex. We're going downstairs to have breakfast," came the words from the little girl's mother. All three of them got up from the bed. "Same place later tonight?" she whispered in her husband's ear before they exited the room.

"Oh yeah," he whispered back, kissing her cheek

And then they went downstairs to for the first time in a while have breakfast with the whole family.

The End


End file.
